Peter McIntyre Thursday, 30 April 2009 107.5 KISSFM:
B.C. health officials have decided to close a Vernon elementary school after a student was diagnosed with swine flu. Beairsto Elementary school will remain closed for a week. Officials say it's a precautionary step after a student at the 500-student French immersion school tested positive for the H1N1 influenza. They say the student had a mild case and is at home recovering well. School board chairman Bill Turanski tells KISS FM it involves a girl in grade 3, but he's not sure about the circumstances of how she got the illness.
Provincial Health Officer Perry Kendall says the swine flu in B.C. is similar to a seasonal flu at this point, and parents should take the normal precautions such as keeping sick children home from class. There are now 34 cases of swine flu across Canada, but all cases have been mild and there have been no deaths in this country.
Kendall goes on to say, At this point, the cases in British Columbia are all very similar to seasonal influenza," said Kendall. "The best thing parents and schools can do to protect children is to keep them home from school if they're sick and to continue taking common sense health precautions to combat the spread of the flu."
Schools and parents can take the following basic precautions to prevent the spread of influenza:
* Stay home when you're sick or have influenza symptoms;
* Avoid close contact with people who are sick;
* Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze and throw the tissue away immediately;
* If you don't have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve, not your hands;
* Clean your hands often with soap and warm water, or a gel- or alcohol-based hand cleanser;
* Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth; and
* Practice other good health habits.
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