Sixteen more new cases of swine flu were detected Tuesday including five schoolchildren at an international community school in Riyadh that brings the total number of H1N1 cases in Saudi Arabia to 232, said Dr. Khalid Al-Marghalani, spokesperson, Ministry of Health. “It is the same school in Riyadh where 20 swine flu cases among its children were detected yesterday (Monday) and the school was temporarily closed,” said Dr. Marghalani without disclosing the name of the school. The MoH has been monitoring the new cases through quarantine and by offering proper medical care, Dr. Marghalani said adding that the Health Ministry has already stepped up measures to combat the spread of the disease. The MoH is planning to launch a huge health awareness campaign targeting the schools including international community schools, right after Ramadan, he said. “Since most of the schools are now closed, the MoH will launch a huge national health awareness campaign right after the holy month of Ramadan,” Dr. Marghalani said. The MoH has intensified its awareness program against swine flu by sending SMS text messages to mobile phone users across the country, he said. However, the good thing about swine flu in the Kingdom is that around 90 percent of those infected with the H1N1 virus were fully recovered and leading normal lives. Authorities at various Saudi-owned and international community schools expressed concern over the increasing number of swine flu cases among schoolchildren. However, those international community schools, which are still functioning, will close for summer vacation by July – end. A. Imthias, managing committee (MC) chairman of International Indian School, Riyadh (IISR) which has an enrollment of around 10,000 students in two buildings, said he will call an emergency meeting to discuss precautionary measures to safeguard schoolchildren against swine flu. Romulo Israel, Charge d'Affaires at the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, said the students at Future Generation International School which was closed down for a week after four of its students were tested positive for swine flu and other Filipino schools in Riyadh have adopted precautionary measures including checking the body temperature of each child as he/she arrives at the school. He said doctors in the Filipino community have also offered their voluntary services to screen the schoolchildren against possible swine flu virus at 12 Saudi-owned and international community schools in Riyadh that have Filipino students. The schools are also coordinating fully with the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Health Ministry, he added. The embassy official said he is still awaiting the special report that he ordered after a meeting of all 12 schools in Riyadh. “We are happy that all the schools are coordinating with the MoE and MoH and that they have adopted measures to combat the spread of the disease,” he said.
