By Khalida Sarwari
The California Department of Education today released a manual to help schools deal with the H1N1 virus and future influenza outbreaks.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell announced the release of a draft of the “Pandemic Influenza Planning Manual” at a news conference held at Los Alamitos Elementary School in San Jose.
“Our top priority is to make sure that our students and our staff are as safe as possible while they’re at school,’ O’Connell said.
The manual, a state-specific supplement to the guidance provided for schools by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Dept of Education, covers a range of topics.
The information includes recommendations and resources available for: preparedness and prevention; notification and reporting procedures for students’ dismissals; and fiscal impacts of extended school, district, or statewide student dismissals if ordered by a public health officer due to pandemic influenza.
O’Connell said the manual will be distributed to students, teachers, school staff and school nurses to review for the next 30 to 60 days.
The document will be available on the California Department of Education website at http://www.cde.ca.gov.
“It is my hope that people will offer their feedback so that we can produce the best possible publication for our schools,” O’Connell said.
O’Connell also addressed concerns from school districts about the appropriateness of using alcohol-based sanitizers in schools.
“Alcohol-based sanitizers are absolutely appropriate and legal to use in schools,” he said.
He also encouraged the practice of “tried and true” precautionary hygiene habits such as washing hands, sneezing into the arm, covering the nose and mouth, and using hand sanitizer.
The H1N1 virus “is a threat to all of us, but we need not panic,” he said. “Our schools are safe.”