Department of Information and Tourism, Taipei City Government

With the beginning of a new school semester, teachers and staff are on high alert against possible spread of the H1N1 Flu (also known as the ‘Swine Flu’). On August 31, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin arrived at Guangfu Elementary School to inspect the safety measures adopted by school authorities.

Standing next to the school gate, the mayor listened to parents voicing their concerns about what the city can do to keep their children safe from the swine flu. The mayor remarked that teachers will devote the first class of the semester to teaching kids about safety precautions, including how to wash hands correctly and how to cover the mouth when coughing in public.

To be safe, the faculty of Guangfu Elementary School took the temperature of students before admitting them inside. According to Hau, each class at school has been assigned forehead thermometers and alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Schools are also required to keep a supply of equipments such as forehead thermometer, hand wash, facemask, and sterilizers in stock.

According to the school authority, students showing fever symptoms will be required to wear a facemask and sent to the hospital within 48 hours.

In addition, the Department of Education will forward a letter to the parents of students, asking them to work with the authority and monitor their children’s temperature at home. They will also send the parents a “health self-monitor card”. Parents can take the temperature of kids at home and sign their names on the card, saving the kids the hassle of waiting to have their temperature taken by teachers at the gate.