Swine Flu: Partial School Quarantines

Hi Fernando,

What do you think about a partial school quarantines, like I described here
http://americanmohist.blogspot.com/2009/08/swine-flu-cellular-quarantine-and.html
We'd keep the school going, but students do not go to school anymore. Instead, they meet up at a local rendezvous point, to work on their homework. A teacher is there to provide supervision. This group (5 to 20) of students do not interact with other student groups in the school district/zone. We keep the kids occupied while the parents work. If you want to keep your kids at home instead of at this local day care, then they get a school absence.

If there is an outbreak, it is limited to the student group and does not spread to other students. Yet we can keep up a semblance of normal during this time of crisis. If swine flu is spreading through non-school means, then we can a total society lock down at that point. But this cellular school quarantine gives us a choice other than school closings.

Jimmy

Hi,
Sorry for the delay in replying Jimmy (and everyone else)
I’m working on several projects at the same time (oh yes, some regarding survival and prep :-) ) and I end up with little time left so I have many unanswered emails and messages.
I think partial school quarantines work. Not as good as complete shutdown but its much better than no measures at all.
It’s easier to control the spreading of the disease, but it still requires a lot of responsibility from adults, students and their parents.

I was working on my final thesis for Architecture right in the middle of the pandemic and we did that, got together someplace in very small groups to make corrections and such (less than 5) . Anyone that had the slightest sign of being ill was encouraged to please not show up.
I used my respirator in those meetings back then, and I think that along with good hand hygiene does help a lot.

My son’s school went a set further:
During the quarantine they disinfected the place completely, threw away any billboard, loose sign made of paper or cardboard, threw away educational material made of cloth, puppets, cushions and such, they washed everything with water with a good amount of bleach in it.
What our school did was offer us small manuals they printed swiftly, and once a week we’d pick them up and the kids would do that at home, so it helped a lot during home schooling.

The important part people: Do SOMETHING.
If the problem is serious, stop school and classes completely. As a preventive measure before seeing things develop fully, partial quarantines may be a possibility.

I’d advice you to limit the meeting to no more than 10 kids, even less if we’re talking about younger kids that aren’t as good at keeping hands clean and such, more forgetful about the safety measures.

Classes in the province of Catamarca stopped yet again this week, because there was a new wave of A flu and a lot of kids got sick.
These are times of swift and decisive measures, adapting as the pandemic evolves and affects each community in its own way.

FerFAL