Commonground
Senior Moderator
Wednesday September 09, 2009, 8:00 PM
By JEANETTE DeFORGE
jdeforge@repub.com
CHICOPEE - Swine flu could close schools in the city this year, but only in cases where so many children or staff are ill it will disrupt the educational process.
"I will close schools," School Superintendent Richard W. Rege Jr. told the School Committee last week. "It will be a last resort."
The H1N1 virus, known as the swine flu, infects children the most. In Massachusetts, the average age of people infected is 14.
Chicopee schools are among the few in Western Massachusetts to have several cases of the H1N1 virus reported among its student body in the spring.
In June, one student at Gen. John J. Stefanik School contracted the virus, and a week later, a student in Lambert-Lavoie School caught the flu. Schools in Springfield, Agawam and Amherst also reported at least one student infected. None of the children were seriously ill.
School officials are taking precautions to prevent a spread of the disease, Rege said.
Before the Sept. 1 start of school, officials purchased 140 water-free hand sanitizers that will be located throughout the schools. About two years ago, all schools installed them in cafeterias, he said.
Each school will post new signs demonstrating proper hand-washing techniques and a video of hand-washing and etiquette for coughing and sneezing will be shown to students, he said.
"The biggest thing is to reinforce the concept of good hygiene," Rege said.
One process that will be changed is that all students will be required to wash their hands when they enter the computer labs at the schools, he said.
Now that health officials know more about the H1N1 virus, some of the practices followed in the spring will not continue. For example, when the two children were reported to be ill, both schools were intensively sanitized, which will not have to be done because the virus only survives six to seven hours on a surface, Rege said.
That does not mean custodians will not be cleaning, he said. They will be paying extra attention to sanitizing common areas such as hand rails and door knobs, Rege said.
"There is a fine line between prevention and preparation and panic," said Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette, the School Committee chairman.
If a vaccine becomes available, he said it will be administered first to children, medical personnel and teachers, he said.
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/09/chicopee_prepares_strategy_in.html
By JEANETTE DeFORGE
jdeforge@repub.com
CHICOPEE - Swine flu could close schools in the city this year, but only in cases where so many children or staff are ill it will disrupt the educational process.
"I will close schools," School Superintendent Richard W. Rege Jr. told the School Committee last week. "It will be a last resort."
The H1N1 virus, known as the swine flu, infects children the most. In Massachusetts, the average age of people infected is 14.
Chicopee schools are among the few in Western Massachusetts to have several cases of the H1N1 virus reported among its student body in the spring.
In June, one student at Gen. John J. Stefanik School contracted the virus, and a week later, a student in Lambert-Lavoie School caught the flu. Schools in Springfield, Agawam and Amherst also reported at least one student infected. None of the children were seriously ill.
School officials are taking precautions to prevent a spread of the disease, Rege said.
Before the Sept. 1 start of school, officials purchased 140 water-free hand sanitizers that will be located throughout the schools. About two years ago, all schools installed them in cafeterias, he said.
Each school will post new signs demonstrating proper hand-washing techniques and a video of hand-washing and etiquette for coughing and sneezing will be shown to students, he said.
"The biggest thing is to reinforce the concept of good hygiene," Rege said.
One process that will be changed is that all students will be required to wash their hands when they enter the computer labs at the schools, he said.
Now that health officials know more about the H1N1 virus, some of the practices followed in the spring will not continue. For example, when the two children were reported to be ill, both schools were intensively sanitized, which will not have to be done because the virus only survives six to seven hours on a surface, Rege said.
That does not mean custodians will not be cleaning, he said. They will be paying extra attention to sanitizing common areas such as hand rails and door knobs, Rege said.
"There is a fine line between prevention and preparation and panic," said Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette, the School Committee chairman.
If a vaccine becomes available, he said it will be administered first to children, medical personnel and teachers, he said.
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/09/chicopee_prepares_strategy_in.html