Re: Australia - School closures
Victoria urged to close down every school for week
Julie-Anne Davies and Lauren Wilson | May 30, 2009
Article from: The Australian
VICTORIA has passed the point where the spread of swine flu can be prevented and
should immediately close every school in the state for a week to slow the progress of the virus, a federal government influenza adviser has warned.
There were last night 209 confirmed cases of swine flu nationally, with 138 cases in Victoria.
Tasmania also reported its first case.
Although seven Victorian schools have been closed in steps to contain the virus and a further 27 identified as "affected", governments and health authorities insist the scale of the outbreak does not warrant wholesale school closures or cancellations of major public events. But Raina MacIntyre, an infections diseases expert and a member of Australia's Pandemic Influenza Advisory Group, said yesterday the time had come to consider more drastic steps.
"We're at the stage now in Victoria where a blanket closure of all schools and pre-schools should be on the agenda and a decision needs to be made quickly," Professor MacIntyre told The Weekend Australian.
Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon conceded yesterday that the focus of Australia's pandemic response would invariably shift from trying to contain the virus to treating it.
She said there were communities in Victoria that had already moved to the next phase in the pandemic plan.
"Where we have a large number of cases, we are doing a lot of the things that are in the contain - and some that are even in the sustain - phase because we need to be taking appropriate action for each community," Ms Roxon said.
"But we have our Chief Medical Officer assessing, hour by hour, let alone day by day, whether that needs to be upgraded."
Professor MacIntyre said Victoria needed to shift from trying to contain swine flu, and instead focus on delaying the inevitable onset of its most virulent stage.
"As much as possible must be done now to try and delay the peak of the virus and hopefully the size of that peak when it comes while we wait for a vaccine, which is still a few months off, to become available," Professor McIntyre said.
In Japan, authorities closed more than 1000 schools in the cities of Kobe and Osaka - where most of its swine flu infections were centred - and cancelled major public events to stop the spread of the virus.
In Britain, one confirmed case of a 13-year-old student at Eton College, the alma mater of princes William and Harry, has prompted the closure for a week of the country's most exclusive school.
Asked yesterday whether Australians should start restricting their social contact and avoid large gatherings such as football matches and concerts, Kevin Rudd told Melbourne radio 3AW: "Let's simply wait for advice. I think that is the responsible course of action.
"The challenge for us is to make sure we work our way through this calmly and methodically and act in response to each piece of advice that we receive."
Concerns have been raised that expected crowds at weekend AFL matches in Melbourne and two Pink concerts, for which 156,000 tickets have been sold, have the potential to quickly exacerbate the spread of virus.
Michael Coppel, whose touring company is bringing the American pop star to Melbourne this weekend, hit out at the media for fanning swine flu paranoia.
Mr Coppel said there were "no plans to counter the threatened pandemic and no indication of any decline in attendance or ticket buying interest as a result of the shameless media beat-up currently occupying the front pages of all media".
While St Kilda football club players were advised to wear face masks on their flight from Melbourne to the Gold Coast yesterday, AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou likened the cancellation of weekend football matches to shutting down the entire CBD.
"I am sure health authorities have got advice on all that but I hope it doesn't affect crowds," Mr Demetriou said. "Come along to the football because you are just as likely to catch a virus at Chadstone Shopping Centre."
Peace campaigners used swine flu as an argument to cancel the biennial Australia-US military exercise Operation Talisman Sabre, which is due to begin on July 6. About 15,000 US troops and 8000 Australian Defence Force personnel are due to take part.
Seven dedicated swine flu clinics are now in operation across Victoria to help emergency departments cope with an influx of people concerned they may have contracted the H1N1 virus.
Of the 39 new cases of swine flu confirmed in Victoria last night, 26 people were of school age. Across the nation, there were last night 48 cases of swine flu in NSW, 11 in Queensland, seven in South Australia, three in the ACT and one each in Western Australia and Tasmania.
The first case in Tasmania, a 62-year-old woman, was a passenger on the cruise ship Pacific Dawn.
So far, the Northern Territory has not been affected by the virus.
The commonwealth Chief Medical Officer is expected to release protective gear from the nation's stockpile as GPs around the country, especially in Victoria, run low on masks and gowns.
With more than 3000 Victorians in home quarantine, a flu expert warned that the Australian public were not taking the health warnings around swine flu seriously enough.
Robert Booy, head of clinical research at the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance at the University of Sydney, said: "People need to understand that this is going to get serious.
"We've probably got thousands of infected people now and so far most have only been affected mildly but that will change.
"People must wash their hands, stay at home if they're coughing and generally take some personal responsibility for their health and those around them."
