Parents confront scare: 7 H1N1 cases confirmed in private schools

Seven cases of swine flu were detected among students, four of them in private schools, said Minister of Education Moudi AlـHomoud on Thursday. Speaking to the press, AlـHomoud urged the administrators of public and private schools to follow the ministry’’s swine flu prevention guidelines to limit the infection, affirming that the ministry would hold meetings between heads of private and public schools to exchange expertise on how to deal with the discovery of swine flu in their schools.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry revealed that up to 253 flu cases were detected last week, adding that the total number of reported cases has reached 2,881 since April. A Health Ministry statement urged people to follow the World Health Organization’’s (WHO) guidelines in the prevention of swine flu.Children under five, pregnant women, and the elderly over the age of 65 are the most likely to get infected with the disease.

Earlier, the Health Ministry said that it had spent around four million Kuwaiti dinars on precautionary and safety strategies to tackle the A(H1N1) virus.The ministry’’s Assistant Undersecretary for Financial Affairs Abdulfattah AlـAsmawy told reporters that the amount was spent out of the estimated budget that the Cabinet had pledged to the nation’’s swine flu committee in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.

Additional sterilizers and medical equipment have been provided across Kuwaiti schools, along with 120 clinics including medical teams.Secondary schools started their academic year three days ago, while primary levels begin on Oct. 4 and the elementary on Oct. 18.Awareness posters have also been posted on school buses across the country.

Source - Al watan