ABU DHABI // Schools are under siege from parents worried about their children catching swine flu. Since the first pupils returned from their summer holidays two weeks ago, teachers and principals have been bombarded with questions from parents about what precautions they are taking to keep away the H1N1 virus. Many parents remain confused even about whether they should allow their children to be at school at all - attendance at some is said to be as low as 40 per cent. Definitive answers have sometimes been missing, with teachers and schools giving conflicting advice.
And further questions over Tuesday's order - later retracted - for all nurseries and special needs centres to be closed indefinitely only added to the issue. While representatives of nurseries and special needs centres were called to a meeting at the Ministry of Social Affairs yesterday to be told that they should stay open, with measures in place to tackle H1N1, the authorities have sought to cut through the confusion in the rest of the education system with mandatory lectures. The lectures, organised jointly by the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi (HAAD) and the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec), are being held across the emirate in both English and Arabic this week, aimed at giving teachers a better idea of what to do when a child falls sick, and, perhaps more important, how to keep parents calm. "Parents are so panicked, understandably," said Nisreen Gharios, the school nurse at the Lycée Francais Theodore Monod, who attended a session yesterday at the Abu Dhabi Education Zone, with staff from 14 other private schools.
"They are calling us daily asking us to check each student's temperature every day and throughout the day, and asking us what our precautions are - even asking us why the school is open in the first place." The authority said daily screening was not yet a requirement. "Daily screening in schools is recommended in some areas of the world, like Singapore," said Dr Arwa Almodwahi, senior public health officer in the authority's family and school health department. "But that is not yet the case in the UAE, and may never be." Dr Almodwahi said there were a lot of misconceptions about swine flu. "The most important point we can bring across is to stress the importance of hand hygiene," she said.
"Teachers have to give students and parents the message that it is very important to wash hands with soap and water frequently, as this is proven to kill 95 per cent of germs." In the absence of hand washing facilities, she said, a hand sanitiser that had a minimum of 60 per cent alcohol was also effective. Schools were urged to provide soap dispensers - not bars of soap - in bathrooms, plus tissues for pupils to use in classrooms, which should be disposed of in covered bins. "Make sure face masks and thermometers are provided to the nurse," said Dr Almodwahi. "When kids go to the bathroom, remind them to wash their hands properly." Dr Ahmed Abdalla, a senior officer of communicable diseases at the public health and policy department of HAAD, said each school should have paracetamol or ibuprofen on hand. However, he added: "Not aspirin, or medication derived from aspirin, as it is not safe for use in children."
He urged teachers to maintain calm. "Not panicking, and telling parents not to panic, is the most important factor," said Dr Abdalla. "Most people are panicking as swine flu is being depicted as a killer disease, but it is just like any other seasonal influenza infection, which kills half a million people every year. Up to now, there have been approximately 2,500 worldwide deaths from the swine flu pandemic, so it is really no worse. "We don't have that many cases in the UAE compared to the rest of the world, we don't have community transmission. That's why we want teachers to be more vigilant and make sure it stays that way. "If you see a sick student, send them home and make sure they stay home for seven days. If their parents want to bring them in, say no."
Gillian Thorp, the head of the infant school at Al Rabeeh School, said it reopened this month at about 75 per cent capacity and was contacting parents of the missing students to see if swine flu was the reason behind their absence. "If we find that some of our students have had swine flu while abroad, and recovered before coming back to school, should we also notify Adec?" asked Ms Thorp. Dr Almodwahi said a decision on notification would be made shortly. Adec is recommending that teachers return from overseas holidays at least seven days before they are meant to report for duty. For students who have been abroad, seven days at home before attending school is also recommended.
Dr Amer al Kindi, the school health manager at Adec, said: "Closing schools is very unlikely considering the current stage of the influenza's spread. At present, there is no need for schools to close." Should schools or classes be asked to close, however, teachers were advised to prepare prepackaged work for pupils to study at home during the seven-day confinement period. Maggie Rageh, principal at Al Shomoo Private School in Abu Dhabi, said she was worried that reiterating the importance of hand hygiene and the threat of swine flu every morning during assembly may cause students and parents to panic. "On the contrary," said Dr Almodwahi. "The most important thing you can do is educate the students and their parents, and make sure they are kept aware." hkhalaf@thenational.ae
