New Delhi, August 10: With more and more people, especially school children, testing positive for swine flu in the national capital, parents are becoming worried about sending their wards to schools while residents welfare associations are trying to raise awareness about the contagious infection.
‘Parents are panicking. Some are not even sending their children to schools by the school transport and instead are picking them up and dropping them,’ Delhi School Parents Association convenor Varinder Arora told IANS.
On Monday, the Raghubir Singh Junior Modern School in south Delhi said it would remain closed for a week after two of its children tested positive for swine flu.
It is the third school in the national capital after Sanskriti School and the Delhi Public School (DPS), East of Kailash branch, shut down for a week with H1N1 cases being reported among students.
Other schools have temporarily shut down some classes.
The association of parents has representatives from 700 to 800 Delhi schools. It is advising parents not to allow children with swine flu symptoms to go to school in order to prevent the spread of infection among their classmates and other school children.
‘Panic has set in, but it is time that awareness is created. If children have symptoms, we are telling parents to keep them at home,’ Arora said.
The association is also trying to educate children and families about the virus. ‘We are in touch with the schools. Children are being told to maintain high levels of hygiene and wash their hands regularly,’ Arora said.
K. Singhal, a parent, rued: ‘Earlier there were swine flu cases only among children who had travelled abroad. Now the risk of human-to-human transmission is high, so it is imperative to take all precautions. It is also the season when the common cold is prevalent and it cannot be distinguished from swine flu.’
In Delhi, 178 people have been discharged after treatment for H1N1, while 58 are still undergoing treatment.
To raise awareness about the infection, Residents Welfare Associations (RWA) are trying to pitch in as well.
Rajiv Kakaria of south Delhi’s Greater Kailash RWA told IANS: ‘On our part we are prepared for an all-out war against the H1N1 virus as we are trying to keep our area clean. We are also in touch with MCD officials.’
‘We have informed residents about a few simple steps – if you are not well, take a few days off and stay at home, if your domestic help is showing symptoms, ask her or him to take leave.’
Other RWAs across Delhi want to organise awareness camps.
‘We have written to the government that just like they organise awareness camps about do’s and don’ts for curbing the spread of malaria and dengue, they should do the same for swine flu,’ Kakaria said.
Others say the 14 testing centres for Delhi’s 16 million plus population aren’t enough.
‘In panic people are queuing up at the centres for testing, and that won’t do. Keeping in mind the population of the capital, the Delhi government should announce more testing centres. East Delhi is the highest populated area but the government has set up only two testing centres there,’ said N.N. Mishra, president of the Mayur Vihar Pocket F RWA.
–Agencies–