Swine flu: J'lem school to suspend studies Thursday
Education Ministry, under Jerusalem Health Bureau's directive, closes capital school due to students developing H1N1 virus symptoms
The decision came after more than half of the school's students developed H1N1 virus symptoms.
"HaMaayan" is a special education boarding-school located inside a monastery in Jerusalem's Ein Kerem neighborhood. While about half of its students developed swine flu symptoms, a majority of the school's 90 students suffer from preexisting conditions and weak immune systems.
Shlomo Karp, chairman of the Jerusalem special education parents' association, said the closing of the institution was "the right step, due to the children's disabilities and the complexity of the cases."
Karp stressed that the children will remain in the dormitory, and that only the school facilities will close down.
"The boarding school staff and nuns will see to the welfare of the children; they will not be harmed, because many of the activities take place in the dormitory premise," he added.
Wednesday marks the beginning of the country-wide vaccination campaign against swine flu.
Head of the Health Ministry's treatment of epidemiological Diseases taskforce Prof. Dan Engelhard, said in a press conference that "schools do not need to be closed in cases of swine flu contraction.
"We will only consider closing special institutions where children who belong in high-risk groups study. For regular children, the swine flu is an easy disease. The problem lies with patients in high-risk groups," he said.
Recently, Education Ministry Director-General Shimshon Shoshani released new guidelines according to which schools must submit daily computerized reports with student's absences.
Last week, parents decided to terminate studies in Osishkin elementary school inTel Aviv, after most students failed to show up in class the previous day. However, a later examination revealed that only four students and three staff members showed signs of the virus.
