Schools told to reopen as normal despite swine flu

THE DEPARTMENT of Education has circulated H1N1 swine flu guidelines to schools and confirmed they should open as scheduled for the new academic year.

The letter also said that the “normal rules” in relation to staff absenteeism would apply.

“All schools should reopen as scheduled. The Department of Education and Science is currently advised by the health authorities that the pandemic is anticipated to be moderate and that school closures for public health reasons are unlikely to be required.”

The letter was sent to primary and post-primary boards of management, as well as the chief executive officers of Vocational Education Committees.

The Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) welcomed the letter, and the union’s general secretary, Peter MacMenamin, said he hoped schools would not have to close as a result of the pandemic.

“However, we would appeal that the department makes a concerted effort in the coming days to ensure that all schools have full access to the requisite paper tissues, soap, running water and appropriate hand-drying facilities that will prevent the spread of germs,” Mr MacMenamin said.

“School management should be assured that if, for example, a plumbing problem occurs on school grounds that they will be facilitated and supported in ensuring a speedy resolution to the problem.”

The department’s letter also highlighted “the five most important things” that schools and colleges could do to help reduce the spread of the flu.

It recommended schools raise awareness by putting up posters. “Respiratory etiquette” should be promoted by encouraging the use of tissues when coughing or sneezing. “If no tissue is available they should cough or sneeze into the inside of their elbow.”

Hand-drying facilities should not be shared, according to the department. “Hence the type of hand-drying facilities that can be used include paper towels , hot air hand-dryers, roller towels, or students and staff members could be asked to bring in and use their own individual towels.”

Hard surfaces such as kitchen worktops and door handles should be cleaned regularly with a normal household cleaner as the virus can live on these surfaces.

School staff are also advised to have a communications plan in place, which should include parents’ contact details.

Meanwhile, in the US White House science advisers said some vaccines should be ready by mid-September instead of mid-October. In a report released yesterday, the president’s council of advisers on science and technology said drug companies should be helped to speed up the bottling of vaccines.

“We recommend that the Department of Health and Human Services accelerate the availability of a portion of the vaccine supply to mid-September by having manufacturers begin to ‘fill and finish’ a subset of the bulk vaccine product at 15 micrograms,” the report said. (Additional reporting Reuters)