A week before the reopening of schools, teachers are optimistic about measures to tackle swine flu. Last week ministries of education and health launched training courses to educate teachers about the symptoms of H1N1. Teachers attending the training sessions have now expressed optimism that they will be able to discover flu cases at an early stage. “The new anti-H1N1 training program for teachers taught us the difference between regular flu and swine flu and how to deal with H1N1 cases,” said Hana Mohammed, an intermediate school teacher in Makkah. The training program launched by the two ministries is aimed at creating an awareness of swine flu among teachers and students by educating them about ways to control the spread of the virus, and how best to deal with infected cases. Rabha Attar from Science Island private school said that private school teachers also participated along with government school teachers in the training programs. “The Ministry of Education required all schools in different cities to send a number of teachers for the anti-H1N1 programs in order to help combat the spread of the virus among our students,” said Attar. On the other hand, school teachers from rural areas complained about not being able to participate in such programs. Taghreed Ateyah, an elementary school teacher in Yalamlam village, said that it was difficult to reach the schools which are located in rural areas and that prevented them from participating in the anti-H1N1 program. Meanwhile, Dr Hanadi Abdulsalam from the Maternity Hospital said that the designation of an isolation room in schools for H1N1 cases was not enough, and that schools need to have first aid sections enabling them to deal with H1N1 cases immediately.
