Extraordinary measures.Health department will ban children with flu symptoms from attending classes

1. Children, great communicators
2. Please do not go to school if you have symptoms
3. Only 25% have been vaccinated
4. ventilation issues
5. influenza epidemic, causing
6. No agreement on masks

Returning to classes after Christmas will concentrate students with obvious flu symptoms in classrooms, in addition to some who are just recovering from respiratory infections. The Ministry of Health and the autonomous region have agreed on an agreement to ban symptomatic children from attending school.

Sources at the inter-regional health board contacted by Confidential Digital explained that data shared by health authorities and boroughs at a special meeting on Monday agreed that flu transmission rates will be high when schools return to school this week . , which will increase cases and infection rates among adults in January.

“Minors with flu symptoms may infect classmates and teachers at school, their older relatives, etc… Everything indicates that the growth level of the virus will continue to be very high in the coming weeks,” highlights.

Taking into account the reports of the surveillance system in the last week of December, when house parties and the Three Kings had not yet taken place at the end of the year, 167.75 cases per 100,000 inhabitants were recorded, “well above the epidemic threshold.”

Children, great communicators

As if that wasn’t enough, health authorities are predicting an increase in flu infections among children, especially those under five, in the coming weeks as they are “four to five times more likely” to get the flu than adults. .

What cannot be ignored is that the transmission rate of the new coronavirus from children to adults is not very high. On the other hand, when it comes to the flu, young children are great spreaders.

Therefore, vaccination of children under five years of age has been included in this year’s pediatric calendar, as it is an indirect way of protecting those who live with them, especially potentially susceptible people with whom they come into contact. them.

Furthermore, according to sources reviewed by the ECD, “concentrations of the virus are higher” in children and the virus “persists longer” in children than in adults.

Please do not go to school if you have symptoms

According to data obtained by Confidential Digital from sources in the inter-regional committee, the health department has agreed with the autonomous community on a special measure: developing a protocol so that teachers can “send” students if they show fever and general discomfort in the classroom Students go home.

Although this is also being done as a precautionary measure, parents may avoid taking their children to school if they are not feeling well, even if the symptoms are subsided. In many cases, the situation assumed by the authorities is a problem for parents who work outside the home.

“Vertical rates of influenza infection will continue to rise over the next two to three weeks now that children have returned to school after the Christmas holidays,” multiple regional health ministry sources insisted.

Only 25% have been vaccinated

Health authorities have also begun recommending that families vaccinate their children “to protect them while avoiding further infections,” especially as schools resume.

The move is aimed at curbing pressure on hospitals as infections tripled over Christmas but the peak expected at the end of January has not yet been reached.

They stressed that this year, for the first time, the flu vaccine was offered free of charge to children under 5 years old as an antidote to preventing the large-scale spread of the virus to the entire population. However, only 25% of children are vaccinated.

ventilation issues

On the health front, they also didn’t ignore that ventilation in schools remains an open issue. Therefore, they explain, “If there is a child with a high viral load in a small space, he or she is likely to infect more people, especially if he or she is symptomatic.”

They remember that “he could infect his colleagues, even teachers, many of whom also had to take sick leave, and infect their relatives.”

influenza epidemic, causing

The special measure comes amid a surge in influenza epidemics. In the absence of new data due to be released on Thursday, infections rose by 75% in the last week of the year.

Experts predict that the numbers will continue to increase given the many family and holiday celebrations after these dates that promote the spread of the virus.

Although there is no estimate of when the peak will be reached, experts predict that cases will begin to decrease around the second half of the month.

Furthermore, the impact of influenza does not only affect health centers. Emergency situations are already saturated in many areas of Spain, and some hospital facilities, such as those in the Valencian community with the highest incidence rates, are already strained.

No agreement on masks

However, an extraordinary plenary meeting of the interregional council convened by Health Minister Monica Garcia on Monday failed to reach agreement on the mask issue. Some communities have rejected plans for health centers to resume their “universal use” amid a resurgence in respiratory virus infections.

The meeting was organized at Garcia’s request to “unify standards” with the autonomous region and coordinate measures to address hospital emergencies and the collapse of primary care centers across the country.

But no consensus has yet been reached. However, the Department of Health insists they will continue to “work side by side with the community”. Minister Monica García has authorized a counter-proposal to be presented by this Wednesday to continue the dialogue.

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