H1N1 Flu Update

To start off, just a couple of items:  first, the Ministry of Education will be making a (long awaited) announcement early Tuesday regarding the full-day kindergarten issue.  Stay tuned, as the blog   post tomorrow will be about that announcement.  And second, just a reminder that our Fall General Meeting is on Wednesday, at the Royal Ashburn Golf and Country Club.  Hope to see you there!

As promised on Friday, today's post is about the H1N1 flu.  If you click on the title of today's post, this will lead you to the ETFO website, where you'll find the latest direction from ETFO, including a Q & A sheet.  The ETFO website will be updated on a regular basis.  As of last week, the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care provided checklists to school boards and school principals.   While ETFO believes that the Ministry should be providing stronger direction and leadership to school boards on this issue, the checklists are a positive first step.  More about the checklists in a moment...

If you have flu-like symptoms, you should remain at home and state that you are off work due to these symptoms.  Those members who are pregnant or medically fragile should consult with their physician as soon as possible about what to do if there is an outbreak of H1N1 at their school/worksite.  Our collective agreement contains the provision that if members are prevented by their physician from entering a particular classroom, school, or other premises of the Board, due to suspected or confirmed evidence of a communicable disease, they will be reassigned by the Board.  Members must be informed if there are students at their school/worksite that have the flu, and should not be responsible for supervising students who arrive at school with flu-like symptoms.  Also, any regular cleaning and additional cleaning of surfaces and items should be done by those who are trained to do so:  custodians.  

And finally, the checklist for schools and school boards...  

• The Board's pandemic plan and the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care's Guidelines for Prevention and Management of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 in Elementary and Secondary Schools have been shared with all school staff;
• The school is to communicate with the public health unit in the event of a case (or cases) of H1N1 at the school;
• Students, parents, and employees are to be informed about changes to the Board's plan and the status of any influenza-like outbreaks;
• Staff that may be pregnant, or that have underlying health issues, are to be informed immediately if and when an outbreak occurs;
• Hand washing facilities (and/or alcohol-based hand rubs) should be available and accessible for use;
• Students should be reminded on an on-going basis of appropriate infection prevention and control practices;
• A strategy should be in place to focus on cleaning high-touch/high-traffic areas; and
• A plan must be in place to minimize student and staff contact with ill students and to supervise ill students until they can be picked up by a parent or guardian.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us at the local office at (905) 666-1122 or 1-800-220-6912.