Seven confirmed cases of the swine flu virus and a high absentee rate will close schools in the Lodi School District this week.

School officials, working with the Columbia County Health Department and the Wisconsin Division of Public Health, made the decision Monday to close the Lodi Primary School and Lodi Elementary schools for the rest of the week. The two buildings combine to hold about 740 students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.

Lodi Middle School and Lodi High School will also be closed Tuesday to allow officials to determine if the schools should also close for the remainder of the week, said Superintendent Michael Shimshak.

School closure is not advised unless a large number of faculty or students are absent and their absence interferes with the school’s ability to function, said Susan Lorenz, a health officer for Columbia County.

The absentee rates at the at Lodi Elementary exceeded 26 percent with most students calling in sick with flu symptoms, Shimshak said.

“I think it was unprecedented in terms of the absentee rate we had at the elementary school,” Shimshak said.

The primary school had a 12.5 percent absentee rate, the middle school was at 10 percent while the high school had “minimal” absences. Typical absentee rates for the district, located about 23 miles north of Madison, are between 4.5 and 5.5 percent Lorenz said.

Six of the swine flu cases were confirmed late Friday and over the weekend a cleaning team sanitized surfaces, keyboards, door handles and light switches in the district’s four schools. A seventh case was confirmed Monday, Shimshak said.

Four of the confirmed cases were in the elementary school, one in the primary school and another in the middle school. Shimshak said he did not know the school the seventh student with the confirmed case attended.

Health and school officials will analyze data Tuesday and confer with medical clinics in the Lodi area to try and determine the extent of the flu symptoms. They will then determine if the 900 students who attend the middle and high schools will return to classes Wednesday.

“We are working very closely with officials from the Columbia County Health Department and acting upon all of their recommendations as quickly as possible,” Shimshak said. “These are uncharted waters for families, communities, schools, and children.”

 The closing Tuesday also means all extracurricular activities, including sports, are canceled. The Northern Capitol Conference meet originally scheduled for Tuesday, which Lodi's team was scheduled to participate in, has been moved to Thursday.