GREAT BAY– The Preventive Health Department (PHD) has provided all principals from primary and secondary schools, as well as day care centres with a package of information on how to prevent the spread of Pandemic H1N1 Virus.
The information package included brochures, posters and a booklet.
Students who come to school with the flu and have travelled within a seven-day period are to be sent back home.
Included in the school preventive package is a letter for parents, which provide valuable information on what actions parents can take. Schools have been asked to make copies of the letters and give it to parents via the students.
Parents are also advised to keep their kids at home if they have flu-like symptoms or were in contact with a person confirmed with Pandemic H1N1 A virus.
Students and parents were informed at the beginning of the new school year via the media by the PHD, that students should practice cough etiquettes and good hygiene.
Teachers, parents and guardians are role models and should demonstrate these behaviors which are a tool to prevent the spread of the Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) virus.
Schools have a central mission of educating children and adolescents. It is crucial not to interrupt the learning process without due cause. Illness may be a cause, and schools and communities have a responsibility to balance the risks of illness among students and staff with the benefits of keeping students in school.
Children should know to wash their hands frequently with soap and water; cough and sneeze into a tissue or into the inside of your elbow/sleeve; dispose of used tissue paper in the trash properly; stay at least six feet away from people who are sick.
The symptoms for children with Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) virus are similar to that of adults. The symptoms include high fever, a runny nose, and cough, sore throat, and body aches. At times these can be accompanies by, diarrhoea, breathlessness and dizziness.
Persons seeking additional information should contact PHD at telephone numbers: 542-3003 or 542-3553 or visit the following websites: www.cdc.gov/swineflu or www.who.int. for more information on Pandemic Influenza, A(H1N1) virus also referred to as swine flu.