Chief health officer recommends schools remain open WAYNE THIBODEAU The Guardian
Despite a growing number of students calling in sick at schools across P.E.I., the province’s chief health officer is recommending schools stay open and parents send their healthy children to school.
Dr. Heather Morrison says there is nothing to indicate that closing the schools would curb the spread of swine flu or H1N1.
“From a public health point of view, we have widespread activity of influenza-like illness across the province,” said Morrison.
“It’s not been proven to limit the spread of illness by closing the school because children tend to gather in other areas.”
St. Louis Elementary in western P.E.I. has the highest number of sick students in the province.
More than half were absent from class on Tuesday.
Morrison said it’s difficult to say why one school can be hit so hard while another school is spared.
“We expect to see waves of illness throughout the community and throughout schools across Prince Edward Island,” she said in a one-on-one interview with The Guardian. “It’s just an indication of more flu activity going through that community and through that school but it will travel from community to community and school to school.”
The P.E.I. government will hold a news conference today to update Islanders on the national H1N1 vaccine shortage.
The province plans to begin vaccinating school-aged children in Grades 1-3 beginning Thursday.
Education Minister Gerard Greenan said the province is following guidelines from the Public Health Agency of Canada to keep schools open. He admits the onset of sickness is difficult on all Islanders and schools are no exception.
“Unless our health officials recommend closure, schools will remain open,” Greenan said in an interview.
Morrison said it’s difficult to say if the numbers have peaked in St. Louis. She said it will take several more days before that can be determined.
The number of schools reporting an outbreak in the Western School Board climbed by three to 16 on Tuesday. But in the Eastern School District, the number of schools reporting absenteeism rates above 10 per cent dropped from 17 to nine.
“It’s important to look at trends over time,” she said.
“One day, it’s hard to tell what a trend is.”
Sick schools:
The following 29 schools are reporting 10 per cent of its student population sick with flu-like symptoms. In the opinion of the Public Health Agency of Canada that constitutes an outbreak. Schools with percentages indicate they have absenteeism rates above 30 per cent.
St. Louis Elementary School (52.3%)
O’Leary Elementary School (30.1%)
Birchwood Intermediate School
Eliot River Elementary School
Gulf Shore Consolidated
L.M. Montgomery School
Sherwood Elementary School
Spring Park Elementary School
Vernon River Consolidated School
West Kent Elementary School
Westwood Primary School
Alberton Elementary School
Amherst Cove Consolidated School
Bloomfield Elementary School
Ellerslie Elementary School
Elm Street Elementary School
Greenfield Elementary School
Hernewood Intermediate School
Kensington Intermediate/Senior High School
M.E. Callaghan Intermediate School
Parkside Elementary School
Queen Elizabeth Elementary School
Somerset Consolidated School
Tignish Elementary School
Westisle Composite High School
Ecole Pierre-Chiasson
Ecole-sur-Mer
Ecole Saint-Augustin
Ecole Francois-Buote
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fedup from pe writes: Can't get over how school's made the list yesterday and are gone today. Kind of amazes me. Does anybody know what they are talking about?? When this was being discussed at the beginning of the school year, it was agreed that if school's showed over 30% absentee rates, that school would close. Now they are saying no,let's keep them open . No wonder our health care system is in such dire straits , with people like this calling the shots. BTW, my kids are totally healthy but I am keeping them out of school until I, as a parent, feel comfortable with sending them. I am not taking Dr. Morrison's advice. Anybody else feel the same way?
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me from pe writes: I suggest they close all schools until every kid gets the H1N1 vacine.Only half of the schools are getting the shot this week.Grades 1,2,3.That is not right.
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TA from pei writes: How many kids stayed home due to illness and how many kids stayed home due to parental concern? No one knows. Parents will call the school and state that their child has flue like symptoms as an excuse for keeping their kids at home adding to the confusion and false numbers of infections. In order to keep accurate numbers, parents should give the real reason for keeping their kids at home. The fear level would go down if we knew the actual numbers of sick kids.
Also, we complain because we have to stand in line for the flu shot. How long do people stand in line for concert tickets or special events without complaint. How can we avoid line ups when we are trying to vaccinate 35 million people?
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J C from PEI writes: (Education Minister Gerard Greenan said the province is following guidelines from the Public Health Agency of Canada to keep schools open.)
Why would any Province be following (guidelines) from the Public Health Agency?
How would they possibly know what was best for each unique area or school? Wouldn't the School Board and Parents of their specific areas be better able to make such decisions on behalf of their children?
Especially given these children have not been vaccinated and it will be another two weeks when they are before the vaccine will grant any protection, I don't believe following National Blanket Guidelines would address specific cases found in each area.
I believe Minister Greenan should be basing school policies on each unique area and/or parents should make their own decisions based on what is best for their children's health and safety.
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its too late from p.e.i. writes: What a lot of you don't seem to realize is that the vaccine takes 10 to 14 days to be effective, so even if school children get their shots this week they still have a pretty good chance of getting the flu. The only way to avoid it at this point is to keep them away from everyone for the full two weeks. These vaccines should have been given before school even started this year. That being said, i think most of us are worrying over nothing. My nine year old had it last week and he's certainly been much sicker with the regular flu in past years, it was basically a high fever and not quite feeling his usual self. If your child's health is compromised in some way, then they need to be vaccinated. Most children will get it anyway, even if they get their shot this week.
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R Fed Up With Swine Flu from Prince Edward Island writes: The reason you see some schools on the list yesterday and then not today is because half the time (or more than half the time) kids are saying they are sick, the parents stay home with them for a day and it quickly becomes reality that they aren't really sick - they are just looking for a day off school. Sure they might have the sniffles, a mild temp., but it sure as heck isn't the swine flu. Mom & Dad aren't going to sit at home day after day with these kids - of course they're going to send them back to school. My next door neighbor's child was out skateboarding up and down our street the other day - I asked why he was home - he said, oh, I have the swine flu (NOT) and now I've got the week off school - hahahaha !!! Kids are taking this as a BIG joke people and we the adults are looking like the fools. Yes, there are serious cases out there that need to be taken seriously, but there are also a lot of youngsters out there who are making us adults look like fools.
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Keith Doyle from Trois-Rivieres, Quebec writes: With her and other health officers' performance during this H1N1 outbreak, I don't really think Islanders should listen to anything Dr. Morrison says. Isn't she the one who said that the system cannot save anyone? Well, if the system had been ready for this influenza, it could have saved everyone, as far as I'm concerned. The situation is a fiasco and all those involved in the system, including governments, are to blame.
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Bill from PE writes: So the Chief Health Officer suggests not to do anything about this ?????
Send your healthy children to school???? What are you smoking lady??? There is a pandemic on the go here. Just why and how do you think people caught it in the first place ? Obviously from gathering around infected people.
If there are people whom are contagious in the schools and don't yet know that they are infected with the virus, do you think that perhaps this pandemic will yet increase ???
If they would have saved at least some of the doses that were sent to the jails, there would have been enough for a few more high risk children.
I have never heard in my life, of a so - called Professional Health Officer telling the general public not to change their behavior while there is a viral pandemic on the rise, with advice like this there would sure to be a full fledged plague.
The bottom line is that the PARENTS have the final say, If they feel that there is a serious health concern, they should keep their children home where it is safe, and please please please don't send sick kids to school.
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bannie ============== from chtown, pei writes: Its all been said before.
We all know that govt is to blame,
they should have been on this in august.
no point closing gate after the horse is out.
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