The Dallas Independent School District is closing an elementary school one day after Fort Worth closed all of its campuses due to the threat of swine flu.

On Thursday, The Dallas County Health and Human Services Department said that a student from Daniel Webster Elementary School has been diagnosed with swine flu. That brings the total number of confirmed swine flu cases in North Texas to six.

Webster Elementary will be closed beginning Friday until at least May 11.

Parents are welcome to pick their children up on Thursday if they would like, though the school will remain open for the remainder of the day and buses will continue to run on schedule.

On Wednesday night, the entire Fort Worth Independent School District closed after a 12-year-old girl at McLean Sixth Grade Center, tested positive for the swine flu. The campuses will be closed through May 8.

"This is a time the citizens of the community have to come together and support each other," Superintendent Melody Johnson said. "This is a very rare event in our history."

Johnson said she made the decision after county health officials recommended the mass closing.

"It's not our thinking that it's spreading so fast we have to do this," said Dr. Sandra Parker, of the Tarrant County Health Department. "But we want to prevent the spread."

This weekend's Mayfest has been shutdown as Tarrant County health officials declared Thursday that all outdoor public gatherings must be canceled," said Richard Zavala, the Director of Parks and Community Department.

It was unclear if the lost school days will have to be made up, or if state education officials might issue a waiver after Gov. Rick Perry declared a health emergency.

Four of the state's 26 confirmed cases are in Dallas County. The director of Dallas County's health department said Wednesday that swine flu precautions are "not overkill."

One case involves a student at Canyon Creek Elementary School in Richardson. The school will be closed through the end of the week.

Other schools in Dallas, Cleburne and Lewisville announced closures this week because of probable cases of swine flu.

The Lewisville Independent School district closed Hebron Valley Elementary on Wednesday afternoon because of three probable cases of swine flu. The district said it is closing the school from Thursday to May 6 to disinfect and sanitize the building.

Cleburne Independent School District closed all of its campuses through the end of this week for sanitation after officials said four probable cases of swine flu were discovered.

Some of the four students who are considered probable swine flu cases have siblings at other schools, which is one reason why the district decided to close all 11 schools, school officials said.

A case is elevated from suspected to probable after lab tests show the subject positive for flu -- though the test may not indicate the particular strain of influenza.

"It may take a while before we get the final confirmation back from the CDC confirming this," said Dr. James Zoretic, of the Department of State Health Services.

The city of Cleburne's mayor also requested that child care facilities take precautions against the swine flu.

"We are asking that all day care centers in the city to close as well. This just a request," Mayor Ted Reynolds said. "We've been getting a lot of calls from day care centers asking what they should do."

In Oak Cliff, the Golden Rule Charter School was temporarily closed after officials learned of a probable case of swine flu there. The school's 450 students were instructed to stay home while cleaning crews disinfected the campus.

"We are just taking a very active role," principal Will Ramos said. "We just want to make sure the right thing is done."

In Irving, the Universal Academy announced that it is closing until May 6 for disinfection after one student was diagnosed with influenza A. Administrators said more testing will need to be done to determine whether this case is a subtype of the swine flu.

Thousands of Texas students are missing school on an important day of standardized state tests because of the closures and because parents are choosing to keep their children home.

School athletics are also out. Texas officials are postponing all public high school athletic and academic competitions until May 11 because of the swine flu outbreak.

[link to www.nbcdfw.com]