Stay Vigilant against the Spread of Influenza and other Respiratory Infections

Dear Parents,

According to the Centre for Health Protection (CHP), there has been a recent increase in the number of influenza cases in Hong kong. To prevent outbreaks of influenza and other respiratory infections in school, the CHP has advised additional precautionary measures for schools.

• Please could parents/guardians monitor your child’s body temperature before school.
• If your child has a fever (oral temperature is higher than 37.5C, ear temperature 38C), regardless of the presence of respiratory symptoms, they should not attend school and should seek medical advice. They should not return to school until 48 hours after the fever has subsided.

In addition, if your child is unwell with other flu-like symptoms such as runny nose, sore throat, cough, vomiting or diarrhea, please seek medical advice and allow adequate rest at home until your child is better, before returning to school.

Please could you also talk to your child about maintaining strict hand and personal hygiene, as below:

• Keep hands clean and wash hands properly with liquid soap for up to 20 seconds. Avoid touching your mouth, nose or eyes with unclean hands.
• Cover nose and mouth while sneezing and coughing, wash hands properly afterwards, and dispose of dirty tissues in a covered bin.
• Maintain a balanced diet, have adequate rest and exercise.
• Avoid visiting crowded places with poor ventilation.
• Wear a surgical mask and seek medical advice promptly if fever or respiratory symptoms develop.
• See your doctor to obtain the Influenza vaccination.

For the latest information on influenza activity, please visit the website of the Centre for Health protection. (www.chp.gov.hk)

If your child is absent from school because of illness, please inform the school at wis@wis.edu.hk and myself at Joyce.yetman@wis.edu.hk .

Thank you.

Kind regards,

Joyce Yetman
School Health Professional.