By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Doctors advised the government Wednesday to temporarily close schools to contain further transmission of influenza A (H1N1).
"Students are one of the most vulnerable groups. Schools are becoming the largest route to mass transmission. We should ask schools to close for a week or two to prevent transmission among students and to let the ill ones take a rest for quick recovery," said the Korean Medical Association.
"Unless we close the schools at this point, many students preparing for the College Scholastic Ability Test slated for Nov. 12 might get infected and may be unable to take the examination," said Jwa hun-jung, the spokesman for the group.
The recommendation came after the government gave heads of schools the discretion to suspend classes. The education ministry said shutting down all schools may trigger a greater level of anxiety among students and parents.
The number of students infected exceeded 41,500 and the number of schools and military installations that have reported flu outbreaks reached over 2,400 nationwide as of Monday.
"We are facing about 4,000 new patients every day. The government needs to make a timely decision," the group said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs stepped up efforts to install flu-patient-only intensive care units at designated hospitals.
The government also decided to recommend people visit local clinics instead of large hospitals so that patients in a serious condition can get intensive treatment.
About 50 doses of Tamiflu will be supplied to all pharmacies nationwide so those who have a fever over 37.6 degrees Celsius, have a runny nose and extreme cough can get the drugs after visiting doctors.
"It appears that we will see a constant increase in the number of infections till December, when vaccination of students conducted in mid-November may show an effect. It is time we make swift changes in policies to better cope with the situation," the ministry said.
Authorities did not confirm whether they were looking to shut down all schools.
bjs@koreatimes.co.kr
