AH1N1 in Central Province:

Ministry team Kandy bound

The Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry will send a special medical team today to the Central Province to ascertain the situation arising following the outbreak of the AH1N1 influenza and the decision to close all schools in the province.

This follows a decision taken at a top level meeting on Saturday at the Health Ministry where officials of the Ministry, Education Ministry Epidemiology Unit and Central Provincial Health Ministry were present. A team of specialist doctors and Ministry officials will visit the province this week and submit their reports at the special meeting at the Ministry on Friday.

At this meeting, a final decision regarding the closure of the schools is scheduled to be made.

Since this special team is scheduled to visit all schools in Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Matale districts, principals and teachers are required to be present. Meanwhile, all private schools and tuition classes in the province too have been requested to fall in line with the decision to close schools till next Friday.

The Ministry has also made arrangements to provide details to the Education Ministry in respect of the Provincial decision to close schools.

It was also decided at the meting to obtain a report from the Health Ministry Epidemiology Unit before a decision to close schools in any province in the future.