WESTERLY - A middle-aged man admitted last week to The Westerly Hospital has contracted H1N1, joining five others in the local area who have recently become afflicted with the flu virus.

Meanwhile, a Lincoln Middle School student with flu-like symptoms died this weekend - though it has not yet been determined if she had H1N1, commonly known as swine flu. A week earlier, a 12- year-old girl from Bristol died after becoming ill with the virus.

In Westerly, the unidentified man, whose age and hometown were not released, tested positive for H1N1 late last week after being admitted to the hospital with flu-like symptoms, hospital spokesman Brian Jordan said Monday.

Jordan, who described the patient as "middle-aged," said he was released from the hospital after spending two to three days there. The hospital received the test results for the swine flu virus after he was discharged and later notified the man.

The hospital this weekend saw a spike in the number of visitors seeking medical attention for flulike symptoms.

Sixty-three of 183 patients - or 34 percent - visited the hospital's emergency room with such symptoms on Saturday and Sunday, Jordan reported. Most were treated and released, although he added the hospital admitted one or two.

During the prior weekend, 23 people with flu-like symptoms sought medical attention.

The hospital, like others in Rhode Island, is only testing admitted patients for the H1N1 virus. The Rhode Island Department of Health analyzes test samples.

"We don't have the resources to swab for anyone who comes in on an out-patient basis," Jordan said. "The state would be overwhelmed with all the testing."

Last week, the health department announced it is dropping H1N1 testing at public and private schools in Rhode Island because of the extensive number of students with flu-like symptoms.

Meanwhile, tests are underway to determine if a juvenile girl, who attended Lincoln Middle School, contracted the H1N1 virus. The girl, who showed flu-like symptoms, died this weekend at Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence.

No flu-associated deaths have been reported in the local area, except for a 64- year-old woman who died last week at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London. The unnamed woman, who had an underlying medical condition, tested positive for the swine flu.

Two students in Westerly, one in Stonington and one in the Chariho Regional School District are confirmed swine flu cases. A Stonington High School teacher has also tested positive for H1N1.

The Westerly school department has not identified where the students attend school. Both the Stonington and Chariho students attend middle school.

Results are unknown for some four-to-six Chariho Middle School students tested recently for H1N1. A spokeswoman for the health department, responsible for conducting the tests, did not return phone messages by press time this morning.

Westerly has joined Chariho and several other schools in Rhode Island that have recently reported high absentee rates among students.

Absenteeism has become so much of a concern that the Rhode Island Department of Education is now reporting daily absences at public and private schools.

"We have been glad to provide this valuable information to aid the health department as it works to protect the health and wellbeing of schoolchildren and others in the state," Deborah A. Gist, commissioner of elementary and secondary education, said in a press statement on Monday. "We have decided to develop and publicize daily attendance reports so that all Rhode Islanders can have access to this information."

Already, for the past two years, the education department has collected daily attendance reports from schools and has provided them to the health department, which uses the information to track and monitor the course of a disease, including H1N1.

In the most recent data posted on the education department's Web site, two schools in Westerly and four in Chariho reported double-digit absentee percentages on Friday. Sixteen percent of students were absent from State Street School, and 12 percent were absent from Westerly Middle School. In Chariho, between 11 percent and 17 percent of students at each of the elementary schools missed class on Friday.

Westerly and Chariho schools are scheduled to begin hosting clinics for the H1N1 vaccination next week. Parents are required to sign consent forms for students. Vaccinations for H1N1 are being given this afternoon at St. Pius X School in Westerly, the first school in the area to get the vaccine. H1N1 vaccinations are scheduled at other local schools through Dec. 14.

In Connecticut, the Ledge Light Health District is accepting H1N1 vaccination clinic registrations for children ages 5 through 18, with high-risk medical conditions. It is also accepting registrations for pregnant women, children 6 months to 4 years, those living with or providing care for infants younger than 6 months, and direct patient health care providers.

Click here for more information about Rhode Island clinics.

Click here for more information for Connecticut clinics.

More about h1n1 flu

• ARTICLE: H1N1 strikes Chariho Campus
• ARTICLE: Westerly officials brace for potential H1N1 flu epidemic