The following is a newsletter sent home on 15 June 2009:-
Parents and caregivers will be aware that the World Health
Organisation has upgraded the swine flu to ‘Pandemic’ status.
Papakura Normal School has put in place a number of
procedures to deal with any outbreak of the flu at school and you will be
informed of these steps in the event that it becomes necessary – our pandemic
‘Yellow Alert’ plan is now operational.
The following information was received from the Ministry of
Health a couple of weeks ago:
There are clear
signs of the early stages of a pandemic, namely significant increase in the
number and spread of infection outside Mexico and North America. The
overseas experience of the virus shows schools seem to be particularly
susceptible to the virus as evidenced in the US, Europe, Japan and also
Australia. It is worth noting that had the Rangitoto College party had a
chance to return to school prior to identification, then the College would have
been closed.
Schools and early
childhood services by their nature are susceptible to many viruses and
influenza in particular is readily spread by children. As a result it is
likely that schools and early childhood services would be amongst the first
affected when the swine flu virus starts to spread here, both by cases and the
need to contain them. For instance, any cases in a school with students
recently returned from anywhere overseas might see that school closed.
Any community spread in one area could see all schools or early childhood
services in that area closed. The length of closure would depend on
circumstances, but it would be initially for at least seven days, which is the
time an infected person would be infectious.
The Ministry of Health suggests that the
families of students who have travelled to countries with considerable spread
of Influenza A (H1N1) should keep them home for a week upon their return, even if they
have no symptoms. Australia is already requiring students who have
travelled to countries with considerable local spread of Influenza A (H1N1) to
stay home for a week even if they have no symptoms.
Dealing with any health issue like this is problematic for schools and early childhood services, although there is evidence that suggests that some basic measures will slow down the spread of viruses like influenza. In addition to potential school closure, these include basic but effective initiatives include promoting basic hygiene measures like very regular hand washing (before anyone puts anything in their mouths), students and staff covering their coughs and sneezes, and any staff or students with symptoms of possible influenza should stay home until they are well.
Further Pandemic information is available from our school web site as well as the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education web sites.
On the back of this notice is information for correct hand washing as well as information to assist people identify the differences between a cold and influenza.
Judy Morgan
Principal
website and learning management system.