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Flu policy decided by school districts, Alberta says
Last Updated: Friday, September 11, 2009 | 9:02 PM ET
Alberta will let individual school districts decide whether a school should close due to swine flu, despite suggestions from the World Health Organization that schools should consider closing if just one per cent of the school population falls ill.
The WHO said Friday that closing schools proactively can reduce the demand for health care by an estimated 30 to 50 per cent at the peak of a pandemic.
"In terms of proactive school closures, it's really something we think school districts will decide for themselves," Alberta's senior medical officer for health, Dr. Gerry Predy, told CBC News on Friday.
Last month, the Public Health Agency of Canada said there is no point closing schools unless the severity of swine flu cases increases, if there aren't enough teachers coming to work or many students are sick.
Closing schools could also mean that parents, including doctors and nurses, would have to stay home, which could also stress the health-care system.Currently both Calgary school boards have decided to treat the H1N1 flu strain like any other virus, believing that closing a school is counterproductive.
Since the swine flu virus materialized last spring, 19 students have been diagnosed with swine flu in Calgary.
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/09/11/calgary-swine-schools.html
Last Updated: Friday, September 11, 2009 | 9:02 PM ET
Alberta will let individual school districts decide whether a school should close due to swine flu, despite suggestions from the World Health Organization that schools should consider closing if just one per cent of the school population falls ill.
The WHO said Friday that closing schools proactively can reduce the demand for health care by an estimated 30 to 50 per cent at the peak of a pandemic.
"In terms of proactive school closures, it's really something we think school districts will decide for themselves," Alberta's senior medical officer for health, Dr. Gerry Predy, told CBC News on Friday.
Last month, the Public Health Agency of Canada said there is no point closing schools unless the severity of swine flu cases increases, if there aren't enough teachers coming to work or many students are sick.
Closing schools could also mean that parents, including doctors and nurses, would have to stay home, which could also stress the health-care system.Currently both Calgary school boards have decided to treat the H1N1 flu strain like any other virus, believing that closing a school is counterproductive.
Since the swine flu virus materialized last spring, 19 students have been diagnosed with swine flu in Calgary.
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/09/11/calgary-swine-schools.html