School boards suspend all overnight excursions

Conseil scolaire catholique Franco-Nord
Near North District School Board
Conseil scolaire public du Nord-Est de l’Ontario
Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board
Joint News Release

********************

The District School Boards find themselves in extraordinary times with the arrival of this year’s flu season. According to Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jim Chirico of the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit, the dominant strain of influenza this season is H1N1. This past week we have all seen an unprecedented increase in absenteeism in our schools due to flu-like symptoms.

Given the dramatic increase of absenteeism within our schools we will continue to closely monitor absenteeism over the next four (4) weeks. We are making decisions based on the information that we have on hand as this influenza season evolves. Our utmost priority is the health and safety of our students and staff. For that reason and at the recommendation of Dr. Jim Chirico, we have reviewed field trips and out of school excursions including tournaments and sporting events. We feel, at this time, that it is reasonable to suspend any overnight excursions out of our districts due to the possibility of having students or staff falling ill in another city and being away from their parents and family. We believe this decision is in the best interest of the health and safety of our students, parents and staff. The status of overnight excursions will be monitored and reviewed closely over the next four (4) weeks. In addition, local activities may be cancelled due to a high rate of absenteeism. With respect to sport league play, individual school principals will determine whether they have sufficient players to field a team and if there are insufficient coaches and/or team members, games will be rescheduled.

We are following the “Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 in Elementary and Secondary Schools” which encourage the following:

- Infection prevention and control

- Physical layout/supplies

- Hand hygiene

- Respiratory etiquette

- Staying home when ill

- Avoiding touching eyes, mouth and nose

- Environmental cleaning

We are following best practices in our schools for the health and safety of our students, parents and staff.

********************