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H1N1 will not keep schools from reopening... yet.

sg_classroomWell the word is out – schools will not be extending the June holidays, at least for next week. On Tuesday, the Ministry of Health announced that schools will reopen on Monday, 29 June 2009 as scheduled. However, to slow down the spread of the H1N1 virus in the school community and in Singapore when school re-opens, MOE will issue a 7-day Leave of Absence (LOA) to all school staff and students returning from affected countries , on and after 22 June 2009, to stay away from school. There will also be stepped up precautionary measures and public education efforts in schools. For more details, see the full press release here.


This will go some way towards managing the spread of the virus through the community. However, many are still wondering if this simply buys us some time before more severe measures will need to be introduced. To add more gloom to the outlook, an infectious diseases expert has said that doctors will miss at least one in five H1N1 patients here because their symptoms will be so mild.

 

At Republic Polytechnic, the management were swift to act when nine cases of H1N1 were confirmed there – all first year students and several staff members of Republic Polytechnic have been told to stay away for seven days from Thursday. This move affects 4,500 students and 16 teachers and makes the polytechnic the first to adopt Ministry of Education measures aimed at preventing mass local transmission of the flu virus.

 

The measures implemented thus far will make some headway only if everyone – parents, teachers and students – abide by the guidelines and provide clear and honest details of their travel history in June. And this is something we cannot be completely sure of, particularly when history doesn’t bode particularly well for us.

 

 Six years ago, when SARS reared its ugly head, there were parents who flouted the rule by asking their children to lie about their travel history, and inconsiderate individuals who continued to frequent public places despite being ordered to stay away. And all this happened when the disease in question had proven to be more deadly than the one we are now battling.

 

So, come next week, will we see a repeat of such incidences and blatant acts of social irresponsibility? The odds against this don’t look good. For the past few days, school-based personnel have been scrabbling to contact parents to record their travel histories, and travel declaration forms have been flying out in cyberspace. Now what we need is honesty, and lots of it. And some way to catch those who are less than truthful. Going through individual passports page by page is too laborious an undertaking - in the absence of a major tracking exercise involving immigration records, employers’ statements and plenty of inter-agency coordination, it won’t be so straightforward prove that someone had indeed remained in Singapore.

 

 Let us hope that good sense and ethics will prevail over parents who are planning to tell a tale other than the truth – and in doing so, dice with illness and death -  so as not to have their children miss a few days of school.

 

Do you think the 7-day leave of absence ruling will help stem the spread of the virus throughout the community? What else can be done? Do share your thoughts below.

Useful sites to monitor:
http://www.moe.gov.sg/schools/influenza-a-h1n1/media-statements-precautionary-measures/
http://www.moh.gov.sg/mohcorp/default.aspx

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Should schools extend the June holidays?

maskedin_train_H1N1The buzz is now on about whether schools will remain closed for an additional week after the June holidays end, in view of H1N1.

This morning, the Today paper reported that in all, three H1N1 clusters have been identified: At Riverlife Church, the National University of Singapore, and Butter Factory at One Fullerton. At the time of writing this, there are now 142 confirmed H1N1 cases in Singapore, including three unlinked cases who did not have any travel history of known contact with confirmed cases.

Based on the Today story, three of nine parents that the paper spoke to were in favour of extending the holidays by at least a week, while the others felt that the situation did not appear as urgent as during the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) period in 2003. When schools closed for nearly three weeks in 2003, the Ministries of Health and Education had indicated that there were “no strong medical reasons” for doing so, but this was nevertheless put in place as a precaution, after taking parents’ feedback into consideration.

Going by that precedent, what are the chances that the authorities will order another closure, as a precautionary measure? What will be the ‘trigger point’ for such a step to take place? We have no way of knowing if more H1N1 clusters will be found in the next few days, but one thing that’s certain is that there will be a number of families returning from holidays abroad this week, whether from just across the causeway or further afield. Closing schools for a week to serve as a quarantine period for those recently on vacation may help somewhat, but the effectiveness of this measure would be limited unless we know for certain that such persons would ALSO make an effort to  stay away from public places and interacting with their friends and another family members during the same period.

I’ve got my doubts here – how many of us have the liberty of taking an extra 7 day’s ‘home leave’ after going on holiday? If anything, we might be scrabbling to catch up with what’s been happening in the office. So here’s the thing – no point for the kids to stay home if their parents are taking the bus and train, catching up with colleagues in the pantry and boardroom… or dropping by the mall to stock up on groceries or grab some hot GSS deals.

Yes, people – young and old - are still hitting the malls, the parks and the beaches – H1N1 or not. Reasons are aplenty – it may just be too hot (or too expensive to have YOUR aircon on all the time), or the deals are too good (yes, we’re back to the GSS ‘help our battered economy’ argument again). I think what would help a lot though is to put in place some civic-minded measures, especially if we’ve just returned from holiday.  It is one thing to catch H1N1, it is another to know that you’ve spread it to someone you know or love, when this could have been prevented.
Some things we could do:
- be contactable for tracing purposes
- keep abreast of H1N1 updates
- don’t plunge right into crowded places if we can help it. After ‘flapping our wings’ on holiday, why not enjoy some ‘home’ time.
- If our jobs don’t allow us to ‘quarantine at home’, which is probably the case, we can still minimize our colleagues’ exposure by keeping our return to office low-key. No need to share the holiday tales and pictures with everyone (at least for 7 days. there’s still Facebook and Twitter for these Smile)
- If we must go out into public places, mask up –  more so if you unwell. It is too bad that people in masks are still inviting stares almost everywhere they go in Singapore, with many who think that someone who has a mask on must be very sick. Anyway, masks when worn properly can work both ways, keeping YOU safe as well as keeping others safe from whatever you’ve got. Even if you’re H1N1-free, better to face unwelcome stares that run the risk of catching a cold or regular flu from someone, which would really spoil your post-holiday high.

Ultimately, if schools do proceed with the extended closure, I won’t be too surprised. It is one thing to reason out the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of such a measure, but another to take the chance of widespread panic and speculation should H1N1 clusters be found in schools soon after term starts again on 29 June. I know my own schoolgoing kids would love it if their June holiday gets extended by a week, but speaking as a parent, my next worry would be how to make sure that week is well-spent. And that is something worth exploring in my next post…

What are your thoughts on the issue of school closure? Should this go ahead even though its not fail-safe measure? Would you keep your kids away from school if you know their classmates had just returned from a high-risk region?  What are other measures that you think schools should be doing?

Useful sites to monitor:
http://www.moe.gov.sg/schools/influenza-a-h1n1/media-statements-precautionary-measures/
http://www.moh.gov.sg/mohcorp/default.aspx

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Are we paying enough attention to hygiene?
swine-flu-virus.jps

With the appearance of SARS in the past and the recent outbreak of the H1N1 virus, what are the things that we need to look out for to ensure proper hygiene? Are we doing enough to prevent the spread or are we encouraging further spread of the disease?

Sometimes, I feel that the offices are often the best incubators for viruses since they are closed environments and the air we breathe in is often "recycled". I am really not surprised that people are falling ill more often as a result. Maybe the building maintenance people should look into installing air ionizers and purifiers into the ventilation system. Perhaps that might answer some of our health woes?

Like what the experts say, personal hygiene is the basic concept of cleaning, grooming and caring for our bodies. While it is an important part of our daily lives at home, personal hygiene isn't just about combed shiny hair and brushed teeth; it is important for worker health and safety in the workplace. Paying attention to personal hygiene can prevent the spread of germs and disease, reduce one's exposure to chemicals and contaminants, and help us prevent skin allergies, skin conditions and chemical sensitivities.

Basic hand washing and skin care thus essential. Good washing and scrubbing with water and soap helps to remove germs, contaminants, and chemicals. It can also prevent exposure by ingestion and cross-contamination of the surfaces and objects we touch.

Everyone should periodically wash their hands during the day. Hand washing is important before and after using the restroom and before or after certain activities. We should wash our hands before, during, and after preparing food and before we take breaks at work to eat, drink or smoke. To control the spread of germs that can cause the flu or common cold, hands should be washed whenever we cough, sneeze, or blow our noses, and whenever we are around a sick person.

Hand washing involves more than a quick rinse under a faucet. To wash hands properly, we should first wet them under the faucet and then use liquid or bar soap. Please do not use dishwashing liquids to wash those precious hands as these industrial strength cleaners aren't really suited for this purpose. It makes sense to invest a little more in an antibacterial soap that provides more protection. Hands should be held out of the water until all skin surfaces are scrubbed and lathered for at least twenty seconds. Following this, we can rinse with clean water and then dry our hands with a disposable towel. To wash hands with a hand sanitizer, we should apply the appropriate amount of sanitizer into the palm of the hand, and then rub hands together until they are dry, being careful to cover all surfaces of the hands. Showering and face-washing after work is also a good idea. Proper personal hygiene and hand protection can help keep us productive and on the job. Be safely clean with good hygiene.

How many of you feel this is also an an issue in your own office? Feel free to log in and leave your comments, as I would love to hear them.

Some other links worth looking at :

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