June 12th, 2009
Children on holidays in swine flu positive countries to have one-week school ban
The New South Wales (NSW) state government has reportedly sent an order to parents not to allow their children to attend school for a week if they’ve spent holidays in other countries that were identified to have widespread swine flu incidents. The order takes place as soon as they return to Australia. This precautionary measure has to be made in order to avoid the spread of virus in case the children had contracted it until such time that a vaccine has been made.
This development will certainly make the parents ponder on future holiday plans. The ban will reportedly last until August this year, the time where a vaccine is estimated to become available to the public.
The countries identified to have several cases of swine flu are Mexico, Canada, Panama, Japan, United States, Spain, Britain and other European countries.
Kerry Chant, the Chief Health Officer of the State, said that the implementation of the restriction will be spearheaded by the Department of Education.
The seven-day or one week period is deemed enough to determine if the child has contracted the illness during the holidays.
