Morning assembly put on hold in UP schools
Govt forms districtlevel rapid response teams that have a public health specialist, physician, epidemiologist, pathologist & lab technician
LUCKNOW/ALLAHABAD: In view of the rising cases of swine flu, the Uttar Pradesh government has directed all the schools to suspend morning assembly.
Though the health directorate order has not reached many schools, some principals suspended morning assembly on their own after reading about it in the newspapers, social media and news channels.
“We called off regular morning assembly at our school. We held the prayers in classrooms as a preventive measure,” said principal of St Teresa’s College, Aashiana, Geetika Kapoor.
A number of schools in Lucknow and Kanpur suspended morning assembly.
In the directive, the health department has urged the school principals and teachers to take preventive measures to check the spread of swine flu.
Teachers have been asked to screen students for symptoms of influenza, cold, cough, sneezing or red eyes.
“In case a student is found having these symptoms, send him/her back on a compulsory seven-day leave. Also, talk to his/her parents and ask them to keep him in isolation and get him examined. Talk about symptoms of influenza and swine flu with students in classrooms for half an hour. Screen them again,” the directive says.
“With your help, we may slow down, if not curb, the spread of influenza in Lucknow this season. It is highly contagious, hence the need for precautions,” the order adds.
More than 700 cases of swine flu have reported in Uttar Pradesh till date.
To check the spread of the disease, the government has formed district-level rapid response teams that comprise a public health specialist, a physician, an epidemiologist, a pathologist and lab technician.
The ministry of health and family welfare has also issued guidelines on categorisation of seasonal influenza cases during screening for home isolation, testing, treatment and hospitalisation.
The government has also ordered a special state wide cleanliness mission from August 17-25 to check the spread of Japanese encephalitis and swine flu.
In a ‘top priority’ missive to all district magistrates and divisional commissioners, the government has asked the officials to ensure another extended fiveday cleanliness push in 13 worst-affected acute encephalitis syndrome/Japanese Encephalitis districts.
The DMs have been asked to appoint a nodal officer for each panchayat area for effective cleanliness and awareness drives against insanitation and vector-borne diseases and submit a compliance report by August 28.