No need to close schools yet, says education chief
The education chief says the spread of a highly contagious intestinal virus is not yet serious enough to warrant the closure of the city's schools.
Michael Suen Ming-yeung said letters had been sent to schools and parents reminding them to maintain good personal hygiene. There are fears that the number of infections caused by the potentially fatal enterovirus-71 (EV-71) could hit a 10-year high.
Secretary for Food and Health Dr York Chow Yat-ngok said the Food and Health Bureau would monitor the situation to determine whether schools needed to shut in the future.
'The most important thing for people to take care of is personal, environmental and food hygiene. This will reduce the spread of the virus,' Chow said, adding that there was no vaccine to prevent the virus, which can cause hand, foot and mouth disease.
Despite the rising number of infections, teachers and parents agreed it was not yet necessary to suspend classes. Mary Tong Siu-fun, chairwoman of the Kindergarten Association, said: 'I think the decision to close schools should not be taken lightly because it will have a domino effect. Also, if you close schools, where will pupils go? They'll get restless staying home.'
The best way to stop the virus from spreading was to keep telling teachers and pupils about the importance of good personal hygiene. 'Caregivers, staff and parents need to understand how to dispose of waste properly,' she said.
The association recommends that schools remind children not to put toys in their mouths and remove those that cannot be easily washed. And telling children to bring their own crockery and cutlery was also a good way to stop the virus spreading, Tong said.
May Chan Siu-wan, vice-president of the Parents Association, said there was no need to close schools yet, but this might change if the number of infections increased.
A spokesman for the Centre for Health Protection said the two adults who had come down with enterovirus-like symptoms were in a stable condition. One of the two had tested positive for EV-71, he said. The centre said the number of cases was likely to break the 2006 record of 236 as it had reached 210 in five months and could hit a 10-year high.
