Hong Kong flu outbreak calls for greater preparation
The right decision has been made to close primary schools and kindergartens before the holiday, but earlier use of vaccines would have proved beneficial
The government has made the right call to bring forward the Lunar New Year holiday for primary schools and kindergartens to today, in an attempt to stem the city’s serious winter flu outbreak.
This is despite considerable inconvenience, such as the very short notice given to parents and teachers and the disruption to preparations for exams at some schools after the holiday.
School closures ‘for pupils’ health’, but some parents still unhappy
The severity of the outbreak, and the danger that it might snowball into and beyond the new year holiday through contagion in crowded schools, justifies the closure announced yesterday by the Centre for Health Protection.
The decision may have appeared overdue and somewhat hurried, given that the current epidemic has laid hundreds of students low over a period of weeks now. But Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor acted after being briefed on Tuesday on the latest developments by top-level specialists in microbiology and respiratory medicine, Professor Yuen Kwok-yung at the University of Hong Kong and Dr David Hui Shu-cheong at Chinese University, respectively.
That global seasonal flu continues to set challenges for public health systems and the pharmaceutical industry is worrying enough.