Back from holiday? Don’t send your children to school
Wednesday 2nd September 2009, 2:59PM BST.
Dr Susan Turnbull
PARENTS can play a vital role in preventing a mass outbreak of swine flu – by keeping their children out of school if they have recently returned from abroad, Jersey’s deputy Medical Officer of Health said today.
As hundreds of children prepare to return to school tomorrow, Dr Susan Turnbull said that it was essential parents kept their youngsters at home if they had just returned from a badly affected country.
Those countries are: the UK, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and the Balearic Islands, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Thailand and the USA.
The number of new swine flu cases has steadily dropped throughout the summer holidays, with just eight Islanders being diagnosed with the H1N1 virus last week. This compares to a peak of 23 new cases during the last week of July.
A flu helpline, which offers general information about the disease, is available on 445566 from Monday to Friday from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm.
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I wish this to be noted that we live in the Baja California Sur, to be exact Cabo San Lucas – there has never been one case of Swine Flu on this peninsular so anyone from down here would NOT be carriers!
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Yep that’ll help cut the spread, so will not going out, better still don’t breathe in.
Alternatively carry on as normal, risk exposure and cold like symptoms for a week before total recovery and future immunity. I think much worse illnesses are spread by people in the office environment going in to work when sick and spreading germs through the air con systems and touching surfaces.That said I know from experience that you are expected to go in unless close to death, I’ve personally been threatened with disciplinery action for being ill.
We’re all doooomed!
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Oh please not this again. Its only Flu !!!!!
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Oh please. So, are all schools in the UK, an infected country (!), being closed indefinitely, given that all pupils there have been in the UK during the previous 48 hours? Perhaps we should find something useful for our Chief and Deputy Medical Health Officers to do – they come up with nonsense when they’re bored.
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It’s only Flu, Tricky, but I bet there will be some “well deserved” pay rises for handling the crisis so skilfully.
Maybe even some honours at New Year or the Queen’s Birthday.
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What about the parents? Is it ok for them to go to work and spread it around their place of work or should they also take 2 days off just to be on the safe side?
What about teachers themselves should they also take 2 days off just in case? If one of them gets it they will spread it all around the school anyway! What a total joke all this is. Flu kills people every year and it will carry on doing so.
It is only a matter of time before we get a big one like 1917 which killed more people than in the whole of WW1. With today’s travel habits it should get around pretty quickly to all four corners….
Micko aircon systems should be banned as far as I am concerned as they cause lots of illness.
Obviously bosses don’t like people off as it affects productivity. If they had their way it is my opinion that they would only excuse people on grounds of death, even then they would probably demand three months notice!
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Adrian 6 “Micko aircon systems should be banned as far as I am concerned as they cause lots of illness.
Obviously bosses don’t like people off as it affects productivity. If they had their way it is my opinion that they would only excuse people on grounds of death, even then they would probably demand three months notice!”
Adrian I like it mate and totally agree, since I changed jobs I’ve not been sick once, previously everytime someone got a cold the whole office would get it.
I always thought this reduced productivity much more than the sick individual taking a couple of days off.
As for 3 months notice in the event of death, yes but only with line manager consent.
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According to my quack, swine flu is relatively mild compared to the dreaded man flu, which kills hundreds of people in Britain alone every year.
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Thankfully those clever people at health spent a fortune on drugs that will never be needed in order to counter this threat that never was.
At least they’ll be able to do a version of Dad’s Army for their Christmas Show: “Don’t panic Dr Gellar, I’ve got the Tamiflu!”
What a waste of money.
And while I’m at it, why do kids have to stay off school for 2 days given that all parents were sent a letter last year saying that any time off school was irreplaceable and so no term time holidays?
And what are working parents supposed to do for those 2 days?
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Doctors in the UK are telling people NOT to keep their children off school, as Swine Flu is relatively mild compared to normal Flu. Their message is “don’t panic” and to act as normal.
What is it with the Scare Mongering going on here?
It seems that professionals in the UK that have had more experience in dealing with this outbreak are trying to get people to get on with their lives, and a bunch of amateurs over here have decided they know better!
It’s pathetic.
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Agreed Anna G (no 10)We had a case in our village school and the school remained open and everyone was perfectly happy. A colleague of mine also had it but was back at work after a few days.The Jersey authorities appear to want a crisis to deal with so that they can appear organised and efficient!
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