'Flu Outbreak Not Bad Enough To Close All Schools'

Health Secretary Sophia Chan said on Sunday that the peak flu season Hong Kong is currently experiencing is not serious enough to warrant closing all schools to help stop the virus from spreading.

Last year, all primary schools and kindergartens were told to break up early ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, after the city saw hundreds of serious flu cases which claimed dozens of lives.

More than 230 kindergartens have already suspended classes for a week during the current flu season and Chan noted that 70 percent of children infected this year are below primary school age.

She said kindergartens and child care centres are now being advised to shut for a week if just a few children come down with flu at the same time, rather than waiting for more serious outbreaks before taking such action.

Previous practice saw kindergartens shut if a fifth of students caught the virus. But Chan said just three cases in four days should now warrant a closure.

The secretary said while there is no need for all schools to suspend classes for the time being, the authorities are closely monitoring the situation.

She said the government is going to look at whether there is a need to expand its school flu vaccination programme to cover kindergartens and child care centres ahead of the next flu season.