HOUSTON -- A Fort Bend County resident -- a student who attends high school in Houston -- became the first local victim of the swine flu, KPRC Local 2 reported Wednesday.

State health officials said one of the 16 Texas cases is in Fort Bend County. The patient is a student from Fort Bend County who attends Episcopal High School in Houston. The head of the school, Ned Smith, confirmed that the school will be closed because one of their students has swine flu.

The student has not been in school this week because of flu-like symptoms and the student was feeling better Wednesday, according to a letter to students and parents posted on the school's Web site.

The letter continues: "In compliance with the directives of the Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services Department, Episcopal High School will be closed through the weekend, effective immediately. The campus will remain locked during that time. Please be assured that we are taking all necessary precautions to protect the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff, and the community.

"We will continue to carefully monitor this developing situation and will share any new information with you as it becomes available. We will reopen the school as soon as we are advised by Harris County that it is appropriate to do so. Decisions concerning planned events, including any necessary rescheduling, will also be posted, so please check www.ehshouston.org frequently."

The letter says the school will reopen "as soon as possible."

Eight swine flu cases are located in Guadalupe County, three in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and three along the Texas-Mexico border. A Mexico City toddler who traveled to Texas with family to visit relatives was the first confirmed death in the U.S. from swine flu. The nearly 2-year-old boy died in a Houston hospital on Monday.

Gov. Rick Perry issued a disaster declaration and schools shut down across the state out of fear of the virus.

Texas officials also postponed all high school athletic and academic competitions until May 11, suspending the baseball season and eliminating the regional track championships.