Saudi school closed due to swine flu outbreak

Saudi school closed due to swine flu outbreak

The Ministry of Education temporarily closed down a school in Riyadh after it reported 20 new swine flu cases among its students.

July 14, 2009 8:38 by Dana El Baltaji

A spokesman from one of the Philippine schools (who didn’t want the school identified in this report) said his school takes extraordinary precautions to keep swine flu out. “We have requested the students who return from their vacation in the Philippines to stay home for a period of seven days,” he said.

The 20 flu cases at the school, plus the additional 12 cases identified since Sunday, bring the total count of Saudi swine flu cases to 216. The new cases include five Saudis – two men and three women – and seven foreign residents: four women and three men.

The Ministry of Health has intensified its awareness program against swine flu throughout the Kingdom by sending SMS text messages to mobile phone users.

“In the wake of the increasing incidence of swine flu, we have embarked on an intensive campaign to educate the masses on the preventive measures that should be taken to fight the disease,” Al Mirghalani said.

First seen in Arab News.

Pages: 1 2

Tags: East Asian school, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, swine flu

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2 Comments

rick on July 14, 2009 6:02 pm

good luck to all the supports and caretakers for the sick!
Exercise precautionary measures on July 15, 2009 8:53 am

I saw an adult (and then their child) sneeze open mouthed in the supermarket yesterday, spraying the fluid all over the fresh produce in the fruit and vegetable section. Without trying to profile them, they were however from a certain identifiable ethnic origin.
Please parents, teach your children (and yourself) to sneeze into a tissue and ensure the mouth is covered when sneezing/coughing. Hygenic and proper disposal of tissues and washing hands ALL the time will also help minimize the risk of spreading this flu to others.
A little education, common sense as well as courtesy to others will go a long way in preventing/reducing the spread of communicable diseases.