H1N1 information drive for schools to go on

CEBU, Philippines – Whether or not opening of classes will be postponed, some 3,000 schools under Cebu City will still undergo a massive information workshop as a preventive procedure against Influenza A(H1N1).

Acting Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama yesterday announced that at 1 p.m. today the teachers in all public schools in the City will undergo a health workshop just like the barangay health workers and officials.

“They will be taught everything about the virus as well as the symptoms,” Rama said.

He also instructed the Cebu City Schools Division to ensure that common flu medicines and first aid are readily available at the school clinic.

Rama said the workshop will be spearheaded by the H1N1 Task Force.

Already the City Disaster Coordinating Council is equipping government employees, especially those in the frontline, with masks and cleansing agents.

Meanwhile Sen. Edgardo Angara in a press release called on DepEd to postpone the start of classes.

With two confirmed cases of H1N1 in the Philippines, Angara yesterday called on the Department of Education to postpone the start of classes to prevent the spread of the virus in the country.

“We’ve got to prevent the spread of H1N1 virus in the country, starting from the most vulnerable in our population, our children,” he said.

Angara, who has been chairman of both Senate Committees on Education and Health in the past, said studies show that flu viruses circulate all year round in tropical and subtropical areas, unlike in countries with a temperate climate, where flu is only prevalent in winter.

“Our tropical climate allows flu viruses to circulate all year round. Coupled with the global mobility of our population, this makes our country a potential hotspot of the H1N1 virus,” Angara said. — Ferliza C. Contratista/BRP (THE FREEMAN)