Swine flu fears prompt school trip cancellations

Both the Edmonton Catholic School Board and Edmonton Public Schools announced Tuesday they are cancelling field trips and restricting travel for staff and students in light of the swine flu outbreak.

Edmonton Public Schools has immediately suspended all travel outside Canada and air travel within Canada for staff business trips and field trips for students.

Edmonton Catholic Schools has cancelled all field trips outside Alberta and all air and ground travel and business trips for staff until further notice.

"We're just really concerned because of the increase of cases that we're seeing of confirmed swine flu …so we're just trying to be really careful," said Lori Nagy, spokesperson for Edmonton Catholic Schools.

A letter is going home to parents Tuesday, Nagy said. The travel ban affects a number of trips that are planned for next month or that are underway right now. 

In one case, one group of students just landed in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

"The concern for us now is that California has declared a state of emergency. So, we are just trying to determine if we can feasibly bring those students back home," Nagy said.

The children are being kept at the airport, and teachers and parents on the trip are trying to find flights back to Edmonton.

While Alberta Education is not issuing any travel advisories, officials are telling schools to ensure they are not taking student trips in areas with confirmed cases of swine flu.

"We just have recommended to school authorities that they consider rescheduling student trips to Mexico and the affected areas in the United States until additional information is issued in the days ahead," spokesperson Kathy Telfer said.

On Tuesday, seven more confirmed cases of swine flu — including two in Alberta — were announced in Canada, bringing the total to 13.