Pandemic: When do schools close?

Nine more cases of swine flu were discovered last Monday and five of them were children. Children are less immune for the flu and they carry it longer and in a more dangerous way than adults. The virus can easily be spread at school and that is why many schools closed their doors during the bird flu in 2006. At this moment there are some schools who have decided to close their doors for a while. There has to be a consistent protocol when the virus will become a threat for the health of children, because it will not work if one school shut its doors while the other does not. The head of a school decides whether this happens or not, but in this case The Health Protection Agency will lead and take an advisory role. Head teachers should start reading the DCSF guidance and they have to use the checklist to make decisions. Some parents are afraid and they keep their children at home. Others are angry that schools are panicking and closing their gates for precautions. In the meanwhile authorities are trying to agree on a common plan.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8029346.stm