bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

additionalInfoBoxes

quizIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Martin Wong

May Chan

Precautions strict at two schools hit by tragedies
Schools, parents and  pupils took extra precautions against infection yesterday as classes resumed after a two-week break prompted by a flu alert.
Many children were seen wearing surgical masks as they returned after their prolonged Easter holidays, although education and health officials last week dismissed the need to do so. Stringent measures were also in place as some primary schools and kindergartens carried out temperature checks on  pupils  before they entered the grounds.
Precautions were strict at the two Tuen Mun schools of  two children who died after developing flu.
At STFA Ho Yat Tung Primary School  and NT Assemblies of God Church Wai Man Kindergarten,  parents were advised to make sure their children had masks.
Staff measured  temperatures  and handed out  masks when necessary.
The measures were welcomed, although  parents and pupils expressed mixed feelings.
Lam King-man, a  Primary Two  pupil at STFA Ho Yat Tung school, said his mother had hesitated about sending him back to school because he  had a fever before the break.
'I want to go back to school to see my friend and study,' said King-man, a classmate of Law Ho-ming,  who died aged seven.
'I still miss Ho-ming,'  he said. 'We used to play together every day ... after he was gone, I wrote a card to him and passed it to my teacher ... I still feel very sad about him.'
Classmate Tong Lok-tung said she did not want to go to school because she feared  getting the flu.
'I was sick before the holidays ... seven or eight of us were sick. And I had a high fever,' she said. 'I  didn't want to go to school but my mother insisted. I am still scared.'
Parents seemed to be more positive, saying they felt that schools and the government had been giving them sufficient information on protection.  Cheng Lam-sau, mother of a Primary Two  pupil, said  STFA Ho Yat Tung school had been communicating well with parents by different means.
'We received school memos through the internet and the teachers called all the parents one by one,' Mrs Cheng said. 'It is very touching. And I have confidence in the school.'
Another parent, Kitty Tam, whose children are studying  at the school, said it would not be wise to stop children from going to school any longer.
'It's so boring and unhealthy for them to stay at home all the time,' Mrs Tam said. 'And children forget about bad things quickly anyway.'
Neither the primary school nor the kindergarten - which three-year-old Ho Po-yi  attended before she died - responded to queries about  the number of absentees.
The Health Department reminded schools and parents to stay alert by taking precautionary measures against influenza.
Schools are requested to report an unusual absenteeism pattern or an increase in pupils suffering from the same infectious  illnesses and with similar symptoms. But no  such reports were received yesterday, a department spokesman said.
The Centre for Health Protection  said no flu outbreak report was received through its influenza surveillance arrangement with  hospitals.



Stepped-up flu checks greet pupils on return to classes