By IANS,
New Delhi : A day after Delhi government opposed the closure of any school fully or partially due to the swine flu threat, a senior central health ministry official Friday said the government will send an official circular to the state governments on the issue.
“There is no logic behind closing down the school for a few days,” the official told IANS.
“It is better to take care of the H1N1 positive student(s) and other students who came in their contact (by quarantining them) rather than shutting up shop in fear. The government will soon send a circular in this regard to all state governments,” said the official, who did not want to be named as he is not designated to talk to media.
He said health is a state subject and the central government will ask the state governments to take steps on this subject. The circular will be issued by the health ministry and a formal announcement will be made on this.
Delhi Health Minister Kiran Walia Thursday said: “There is no need to close the schools. We only need to be careful and take precautions about the disease. The preventive measures have been sent to the schools and principals have been asked to tell the students about the do’s and don’ts to avoid the disease.”
The minister, however, asked parents not to send their children to school if they show symptoms of swine flu, but also advised students that there was no need for panic.
Earlier this week, a school in Pune decided to close for a week due to a rise in the number of students with the infection. Similarly, the Sardar Patel Vidyalaya in south Delhi announced Wednesday that the section A of its class 9 will remain closed after a girl student tested positive for swine flu.