Schools to decide on closures over swine flu [npc.ie]
- Published: 31 July 2009
THE country's 4,000 schools are being advised to decide themselves whether they should close if a number of teachers are affected by swine flu.
With up to a quarter of the population estimated to be at risk of picking up the H1N1 virus, schools and colleges are among the public institutions to have been provided with guidelines by health authorities.
An information sheet, available on the Department of Education website, tells them they should continue to operate normally unless advised by Health Service Executive public health staff. On the question of high levels of staff absenteeism, they are told that the normal rules apply in the case of the swine flu virus.
The country's primary and second-level schools employ more than 60,000 teachers and about 20,000 support staff, while around 20,000 people work in third-level colleges.
"Decisions to remain open or to close having regard to the unavailability of staff due to illness in the event of an outbreak of Influenza A(H1N1), are a matter for each individual school or college authority, as is the case at present where any significant number of teachers are absent due to illness or the sudden onset of severe weather," the information sheet reads.
The advice for parents is that students should attend school as normal, unless they have any flu-like symptoms, and anybody who develops such symptoms at school or college should go home or be taken home by an adult, and their family doctor contacted.
If any student tests positive for swine flu, their school or college will be contacted by public health officials, who will advise possible actions, including whether a class group should stay at home or if the entire school or college should close.
