Gov`t Bans School Closures due to H1N1 Flu

Schools will not be closed despite the outbreak of H1N1 influenza, and a restriction keeping students who traveled abroad out of school for a week will also be lifted.

As the flu began spreading among ordinary people, the Education, Science and Technology Ministry yesterday issued a revised guideline banning school closure even if a confirmed or suspected H1N1 patient is found in a school.

Instead, patients will be kept from the school to prevent its closure from causing patients to spread the virus to unspecified people.

Students who have traveled abroad can still attend school if they show no flu-like symptoms such as fever at the time of reentry into the country. Schools and private academic institutes can notify each other when their students are infected with the H1N1 virus after gaining consent from students’ parents.

Fever checks for students at public schools nationwide will continue.