Ads by Google Ads by Google

Public schools remain closed due to “pink eye”

Department of Education director Vaitinasa Dr. Salu Hunkin-Finau has ordered all public schools to be closed for the rest of the week, to help contain the spread of the pink eye outbreak that has affected many students and teachers.

 

Last Thursday, Vaitinasa ordered all public schools closed for three days and reopen today, pending further evaluation of the pink eye outbreak, after nearly 2,300 students and 130 teachers were affected.

 

Yesterday, the DOE director said that due to the “continued spread of pink eye that has affected a great number of students and teachers” she has ordered that “schools remain closed for the rest of the week.”

 

Additionally, all sports and extra curricular activities are all postponed until further notice, she said.

 

“In order to help prevent the further spread of the pink eye virus, we highly recommend that all affected teachers and [DOE] workers in your division, stay home,” she informed DOE offices. “Please keep your child out of reach with those that are affected by the pink eye.”

 

Vaitinasa, however also told teachers and DOE workers, “If you do not have the pink eye, you must report to work.”

 

She asked DOE employees to keep monitoring the local news outlets for any updates.

 

Because of school closure, the annual History Day competition that was set for this week, is postponed until further notice, according to the Amerika Samoa Humanities Council, organizer of the event.

 

Office of Catholic Eduction director, Eddie Brown confirmed that all Catholic schools will also continue to be closed this week following the lead of DOE. He says Catholic schools’ Spring Break is next week and therefore schools will resume on Apr. 21st.

 

For other private schools, it’s suggested that parents contact their respective schools to confirm closure or otherwise.

 

As of Monday this week, the Department of Health says a total of 468 pink eye cases have been seen at the LBJ Medical Center emergency room and eye clinic as well as the DoH community health clinics on Tutuila. DoH stressed that this data does not include the DOE numbers.

 

Information provided by DoH to Samoa News provides recommendations for churches, schools and workplaces:

 

•            urge people with symptoms of pink eye not to attend school, church or work until their symptoms are resolved

 

•            schools with more than 20% of students absent should close “until the epidemic is resolving.” Additionally DoH is monitoring the epidemic and will notify the public when the “epidemic is resolving”.

 

Meanwhile, Samoa Director General of Health, Leausa Dr. Take Naseri says while pink eye in the country has been contained, people still affected with the disease should still not travel away in order prevent it from spreading elsewhere.

 

He says people in Samoa have been advised not to travel to American Samoa if they have pink eye, reports Radio New Zealand International, adding that several people from the Territory, who were in Samoa at the height of the pink eye outbreak took the disease back to the Territory.

 

Leausa says there was no loss of life from the outbreak, but more than 800 patients were reported as going to the national hospital in Apia and that doesn’t include cases on Savai'i island.

 

The local DoH said the pink eye epidemic is thought to have been introduced in the territory on Mar. 20 with the return of a high school singing group from Samoa. (see yesterday’s edition for other details from DoH).