The Cal State Long Beach student suspected of having swine flu was officially diagnosed with the first case of the H1N1 flu strain in Los Angeles County, according to the State of California’s Public Health Department on Saturday.
Both the state health department and the city of Long Beach have confirmed the student’s diagnosis.
The student began having symptoms of the flu more than a week ago and has not attended classes since last Thursday.
The student lives in the Los Alamitos residence hall on campus.
According to a Long Beach Health Department press release, Long Beach City Health Officer Helene Calvet declared a health emergency for the city on Wednesday, which allowed her department to request the release of Tamiflu to treat other individuals potentially affected by swine flu.
As of 11:30 p.m. on Saturday night, the CSULB website’s emergency preparedness page read, “We are happy to report that the latest test results of samples taken from students demonstrating flu-like symptoms have all been found negative for swine flu.”
The site also said, “We are also happy to report that the student who received the ‘probable positive’ test result earlier this week is recovering and doing very well from what has been a mild illness.”
By noon Sunday the website was updated to read that the student “did in fact have swine flu.”
The student with swine flu was accommodated by the university and sent to a hotel room, according to her roommate.
The roommate, who wishes to remain anonymous, said she was sent away from her dormitory and not accommodated for by the university. She is currently living with her boyfriend since her displacement from the dorm.
The roommate said she was not notified about her roommate’s condition until CSULB President F. King Alexander sent out an e-mail on April 29.
The e-mail she referred to, which she claims is inaccurate, said, “The student, who is a resident of the Los Alamitos residence hall, first fell ill on Sunday, and went to the Student Health Services to see a doctor on Monday. Because the symptoms matched those related to swine flu, precautionary arrangements were immediately made for the student’s roommate to stay elsewhere.”
The roommate said the SHS gave her free medicine to take as a precaution. She said she is still paying $850 per month for her dorm even though she is not living there, and has not been offered any other residential room or other accommodations.
Marisol Aguilar contributed to this article.
This story was updated at 12:00 p.m. on May 3.
Administration needs to stop working so hard to protect image and actually deliver some non-PR information. If I catch this crap and have to dump the rest of my semester, you can bet I’ll sue some asses for withholding facts.
Relax people, this is not the bubonic plague! In fact, given the mildness of the current strain, it might actually be a good idea to catch it and develop some immunity in case a more virulent strain develops.
my opinion is that they should close down the campus so that all the areas of the campus be cleaned for the health of the students!
All the areas of the college should be cleaned for the health of every student.
That is nice that The higher ups actually posted a reply.I had to get my info from another source and the 49er thank goodness.So How do we as students know that we are safe if we don’t know where the student with the swine flu has been?It is pretty convenient that all students that were sick weren’t on campus suuuurrree!!.I thought Obama said that if there is one case of the H1N1 flu at a school it is advised that the school be closed for a week.I guess we are special.
As President Alexander says” buisness as usual”sorry students
That is nice that The higher ups actually posted a reply.I had to get my info from another source and the 49er thank goodness.So How do we as students know that we are safe if we don’t know where the student with the swine flu has been?It is pretty convenient that all students that were sick weren’t on campus suuuurrree!!.I thought Obama said that if there is one case of the H1N1 flu at a school it is advised that the school be closed for a week.I guess we are special.
As President Alexander says” buisness as usual”sorry students
I agree with the other two people mentioning how we aren’t informed that the case is positive, but they do alarm us about the “probable positive.” That is just ridiculous, as a resident of a dorm near Alamitos I find this very upsetting.
DISGUSTING.
CLOSE THE CAMPUS.
I agree with you Claire…It is pretty irresponsible upon the university to not be the ones e-mailing the students to advise of the swine flu confirmation. Thank you Daily 49er.
I say keep your eyes on the Daily 49er instead of the university’s “emergency” page. You’ll get better information from the student media than the college it seems. Thank goodness somebody is putting important updates online.
“enea ostrich” you either have your head in the sand or are part of the university’s public relations team. They are being responsible by not releasing the student’s name, but are dragging their feet putting important information out there on the website. What you call “high standards” I call reckless. Spin doctors are not medical professionals.
I’m not proud of the university at all. They sent out constant emails about the “probable positive” and then when it turned into a confirmed positive-they say nothing at all. That is a bit shady if you ask me.
The university acted quickly, as did the student. This is commendable on both parts. As this is my alma mater, I am proud to see that this facility keeps its high standards and privacy of its students. By working quickly, not only is this student recovering from mild symptoms, the media circus will be gone too. GREAT!