Parents of a private school in Velachery reportedly panicked on Tuesday due to an H1N1 (swine flu) scare. Of the 1,100 students admitted there, only 88 turned up, local officials said. In order to prevent schools and parents from panicking on this count, the Chennai Corporation is planning to conduct an orientation programme (for the second time) for the 1,700-odd private schools across its zones, a senior official said.
According to the official, around two weeks ago, a child at the school had tested positive for H1N1 and had subsequently been treated and discharged.
However, school authorities informed parents about the case via SMS and many of them panicked and did not send in their children. “When we heard about what happened on Tuesday, we sent a team with a doctor to speak to the management,” he said.
The team told the school authorities and teachers that there was no need to panic and that classes should continue as usual. The authorities were also given numbers to contact in case of a suspected case, and asked to clean the premises.
“A lot of private schools are creating panic. One asked students to come in wearing masks, another asked them to get certificates from doctors stating they do not have H1N1. We have oriented the school but we are now planning to do it again in order to tell them what the guidelines are with regard to H1N1 are,” he said.
As per H1N1 guidelines, if a teacher or student had flu-like symptoms, he or she must stay at home. If fever developed when the students or teacher was in school, the classroom had to disinfected and contact treatment should be given to classmates and others who had been in close contact, said Director of Public Health K. Kolandaisamy.