No postponement of school opening

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) said it is not putting off the June 1 school opening despite the first confirmed case of Influenza A(H1N1) in the country.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has assured him that there is no need for the DepEd to postpone the school opening.

“There’s no need for it. We’re constantly in touch with the DOH,” Lapus said.

Lapus said DepEd has prepared a massive information dissemination drive on A(H1N1).

He said public school teachers and officials have been ordered to review the DOH advisory on A(H1N1) and relay the information to students and parents.

“We want teachers to educate the students as well as their parents on Influenza A(H1N1),” Lapus said.

The World Heath Organization (WHO) has noted that the current outbreak affects young people, but it was not clear if young people were more affected by A(H1N1) flu because of the nature of the virus, or because it was more likely to be passed around among students in the close confines of schools.

Japan, which saw a surge in its cases of A(H1N1) infection, has cancelled classes in hundreds of schools all over the country.  

But the Health Department said there was no sign of a widespread outbreak and no need to suspend classes, which start in June.

World Health Organization officials said the Philippines had “quite a good surveillance system,” to prevent the entry and spread of the disease.

However WHO regional representative Soe Nyunt-U said “there is no guarantee that this will be the last case” of A(H1N1) in the Philippines, citing the large number of people who travel from North America to the Philippines.

More than 11,000 cases of swine flu and 85 deaths have been recorded worldwide. With AFP