WilStop

Abu Dhabi Health authorities are studying a proposal to further postpone the opening of school until November to prevent H1N1 virus contamination among school children. The proposal covers both public and private schools that follows the education ministry’s curriculum. A source said postponing the school opening was among the many options discussed during a meeting held las week between the National Committee to Combar H1N1 and officials from the minitiries of education and health, as well as educational councils and health authorities.

The option to postpone the opening of school for another month is gaining ground, and a decision will be made within the next two weeks following the expected influx of residents who are returning from vacation, the source said.

The source said health authorities cited a study that says it would be difficult to contain the virus and prevent it from spreading among school children if more than one case appeared in any school. The study recommended that school remain closed until the situation is under control.

Rescheduling the school opening to November would allow returning residents to have more than a month’s time for self-quarantine to determine whether they have been infected by swine flu. The extra period likewise gives enough time to treat those who became infected or have shown symptoms of the virus. Hence, if school is postponed until November this will ensure suspected cases are treated at home.

Moreover, most schools are not ready to cope with the situation in case more than one person becomes infected. Another factor being considered was the lack of hospital beds to handle patients in case of a wide-spread outbreak. Source told that health authorities had received reports from international bodies suggesting that the possibility of virus spreading in cold countries is greater, because the virus thrives better in cooler climates. Authorities are concerned that school children returning with their families from cold countries maybe carrying the H1N1 virus.

REALIZATIONS: The bottomline is H1N1 virus must be prevented prior to the start of the school year as this virus is a serious one not unless its just an elderly wrinkles that can be treathen by eye wrinkle cream. The main concern is the health of the school children who might possibly carry the said virus. Due to that the Abu Dhabi Education committee is planning to extend the school comeback.

Tags: Health Care, Health Information

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 5th, 2009 at 6:45 am and is filed under Health, Safety, Self-Helf, Topics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.