Three Cases In Brunei Will Close All Schools
By Azlan Othman

Bandar Seri Begawan - All educational institutions in the country, both government and non-government, will be closed for 10 days if more than three students from different schools contract the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

The decision to close all schools will only be made upon the approval by the Minister of Education. All educational institutions will only be opened if they are confirmed safe. Only Students who do not develop SARS symptoms will be allowed to go back to school.

If there are SARS cases involving students and school 'communities', such school will be closed for 10 days and will only be re-opened upon receiving approval from the Ministry of Education. All students from such school will be home quarantined for 10 days until the Ministry of Education gives approval that schooling could be resumed.

These plan of actions were highlighted yesterday in a briefing delivered by Dr. Hj Latif, Special Duties Officer at the Ministry of Education and Cikgu Apsah, Acting Director of Schools.

The briefing was meant for headmasters and principals from both government and non-government schools, which was held at the Teacher's Training College in Jln Tutong.

Three other plan of actions were also highlighted yesterday. "If there is a SARS case involving parents, guardians, siblings or any person staying with the student, the student will be advised to see a doctor immediately and he/she will not be allowed to attend school and asked to be home quarantined for 10 days. The student will only be allowed to attend school upon receiving approval from a doctor at the Ministry of Health.

"If a SARS case is reported, but if it did not involve a student or parent/guardian, siblings and school 'communities', the school is not required to be closed. The school authority will be given health advice, as issued by the Ministry of Health.

"If there are no SARS cases, all schools, colleges and institution of higher learnings will not be closed. However, precautionary measures must be taken by all parties including maintaining self-cleanliness, following advices from the Ministry of Health not to go to SARS infected areas, and avoiding crowded places. Muslim school communities are encouraged to recite 'Doa'.

The outbreak of SARS in the region has also caused panic among parents. Headmasters and principals from government and non-government schools were inundated with telephone calls from concerned parents as rumour-mongers spread news that several students and teachers were suspected of SARS.

Several headmasters and principals confirmed this yesterday during a Q&A session.

The principal of Chung Hwa Middle School in the Belait district voiced out his concern over the drop in students' attendance for the past two days as rumours were spread over the presence of a SARS case brought by a student who had returned from a holiday in Singapore.

"For the past two days, parents did not send their children to school. When they found out that there's a student who had just returned from Singapore, they quickly took their children away from the school. Statistics compiled by the school found out that only 38 per cent attendance was recorded on April 2 and it drastically dropped to 20 per cent the following day. We tried to convince the parents about the situation, but they could not be convinced.

"Worst of all, many parents spread rumours that the infected student was sent to the hospital yesterday (Wednesday). And today (yesterday), another rumour was spread that two of the teachers collapsed inside the classroom."

And during the briefing yesterday, he asked the ministry how to convince parents concerning this situation. Dr. Hj Latif said, it is the role of the principals to calm the fears and dispel the rumours. He added that if anyone in the school developed SARS symptoms, then he/she must go to the hospital.

Meanwhile Chung Hwa Middle School issued a statement to the parents yesterday. It stated that "these rumours are unfounded and that the school's staff teachers and students are safe and sound. The school has taken necessary precautions to deal with the matter by giving instructions to teachers and students.

"These include close monitoring by the teachers on the condition of the students in the classrooms, students have been instructed to inform teachers immediately if they are not feeling well and teachers and students have been briefed on the symptoms of the disease like fatigue, fever, muscle aches, cough and difficulty in breathing.

"In addition, students are advised to refrain from going to public places, unless absolutely necessary, and that classrooms should be well ventilated. Switching on air-conditioners is not encouraged. Personal hygiene is encouraged like always washing hands after going to the toilet as well as to cease ECA temporarily till further notice."

Meanwhile during the Q&A session, another principal highlighted two cases. Several parents did not want to send their children to school even though the principal convinced them that there are no suspected cases.

There's a teacher who had just returned from Hong Kong and developed a cough. "I asked the teacher to seek medical attention but he ignored my advice. Upon persuading, the teacher took two days off but upon returning, his cough got more severe. The staff room was empty when the said teacher entered it," he said.

The Ministry of Education has opened hotline numbers at SARS operation room at the ministry. The hotline numbers are 2380620, 2381224 (during office hours) and 8864945 (after working hours).

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin