EDUCATION BULLETIN / INFLUENZA A (H1N1)

Transcription

1 EDUCATION BULLETIN / INFLUENZA A (H1N1) TO: School boards, CEGEPs, universities and private teaching institutions DATE: November 17, 2009 SUBJECT: Second wave of the Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic in Québec On October 21, 2009, Québec s provincial director of public health announced that the second wave of the Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic had begun in Québec. However, so far this flu has not caused serious illness in the vast majority of cases. Monitoring absenteeism In order to keep abreast of changes in the transmission of the Influenza A (H1N1) virus and to quickly identify outbreaks in educational institutions, school administrators must be vigilant in monitoring changes in rates of absenteeism and notify the Ministère de l Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport (MELS) of all rates of absenteeism above 10% that may be related to the presence of flu-like symptoms or any unusual situation. Each educational institution must be able to quantify or describe instances of absenteeism among students, teachers and non-teaching staff. Following a notification of a rate of absenteeism above 10%, MELS must be advised of a school s absenteeism rates on a daily basis so that it can keep track of the situation. It is important that data on absenteeism for any given day be transmitted before noon on that same day using the MELS Web application, so that MELS can have an up-to-date picture of the situation. All unusual situations must be reported quickly to the nearest MELS regional office. Communicating with parents, students and staff When the rate of absenteeism in an educational institution rises above 10%, it is recommended that the parents, students and school staff be informed that: the institution has observed an increase in absenteeism due to flu-like symptoms in recent days. it is possible to slow the propagation of the virus by simple measures such as hand washing, respiratory hygiene and vaccination against the Influenza A (H1N1) virus. You can find helpful posters and brochures on the Pandémie Québec Web site at: students and school staff who exhibit flu-like symptoms (e.g. fever and cough) should remain at home until their symptoms have disappeared. However, should such symptoms persist beyond seven days, the affected students or staff members may resume their normal activities providing their general state of health allows for it. students or school staff who arrive at school exhibiting flu-like symptoms will be told to return home.

2 2 Disclosing rates of absenteeism MELS does not disclose the names of schools that have reported rates of absenteeism above 10%. This purpose of this policy is to ensure that the school authorities have sufficient time to inform parents, students and their school staff of the situation, when this is warranted. However, during weekly press conferences on the Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, information on the main regions concerned and on the number of schools affected in each region is made public. Each school board and school is responsible for its communications with the media and for any information it discloses. Caution is called for when releasing details in order to protect personal information and, more particularly, to avoid disclosing information that might make it possible to identify individuals. It should be noted that the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux is solely responsible for giving out information regarding confirmed cases of Influenza A (H1N1) and hospitalizations or deaths due to it. Increasing prevention measures Now that the second wave of Influenza A (H1N1) has begun in Québec, it is recommended that the observance of prevention measures such as hand washing and respiratory hygiene be increased. Accordingly, a poster and a brochure explaining the main prevention measures, adapted for elementary school students, have been distributed to all of Québec s elementary schools. Moreover, additional copies of these documents can be printed out from PDF files available on the MELS Web site. Simply go to and click on the links under the heading Useful tools. Information tools of the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS) The Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS) has produced a number of information tools designed for the general public on various aspects of the Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic. All of these tools are available in electronic format on the Pandémie Québec Web site. Go to and click on FAQs on Influenza A (H1N1) under Headlines. The MSSS has asked MELS to collaborate in regard to documentation requests that could be handled by the education system. Educational institutions and school boards that wish to distribute such documents to their students or staff are strongly encouraged to download the electronic versions and print them.

3 3 Moreover, the MSSS will forward all requests for documents originating in the education system directly to MELS, which will process them individually. Consequently, the delivery of documents may be delayed. Medical certificates To avoid clogging the health care system during this second wave of the Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux has asked that the education system require its employees to provide medical certificates only after an absence of seven consecutive days. Managing absenteeism and school staff s presence at work The working conditions set out in the collective agreements of school staff apply as usual and staff absences must be managed in accordance with the conditions in effect. This means that staff members who are ill must stay home. Their absences will be deducted from their reserve of sick days or they may need to observe, depending on the case, the waiting period provided for by their collective agreement. Planning for work force requirements As stipulated in the document Dealing With the Influenza Pandemic: A Guide for Essential Services in Educational Institutions and School Organizations, each educational institution must make provisions to ensure that its work force requirements are met and that essential services such as teaching and daycare services are maintained. During this second wave of Influenza A (H1N1), each educational institution should ensure that its work force requirements plan is up to date. This plan should provide for: the collaboration of teachers available to lend a hand, in accordance with the relevant collective agreements the collaboration of all administrators recourse to retired staff recourse to student teachers Vaccination campaign All information on vaccination sites and times can be found at Click on your region and follow the links. Vaccination is offered free of charge to all Québec residents. Foreign students must present a document indicating their name and their Québec address. A valid student card is also acceptable as proof of Québec residency during the vaccination campaign.

4 4 Given the vaccination clinic schedules and the fact that there are time slots available during weekends, employees will not be entitled to paid absences to get vaccinated. The collaboration of the schools in student vaccination The public health and social services agencies are responsible for organizing the vaccination campaign in each Québec region. Since each region has its own particular characteristics, various agencies may employ different strategies to ensure that the province s entire population is vaccinated as quickly as possible. In order to vaccinate young people in the 5-to-19 age bracket as quickly as possible, the health and social services agencies may ask schools to help organize, where needed, student transportation to mass vaccination clinics, or vaccination sessions on their own premises. When organizing student transportation to mass vaccination clinics, educational institutions can count on the collaboration of the MELS regional offices. Trainees in health care environments While trainees in health care environments are not required to get vaccinated in order to continue their practicums, it is recommended that they get the vaccine, along with all health care workers. If, on the other hand, they are not vaccinated and are consequently in danger of contaminating others, or if patients in the units to which they are assigned represent a risk of contamination to them, their practicum supervisors may, as a prevention measure, prohibit them from dispensing health care services or reassign them to another unit, following the procedure normally adopted in such circumstances. Trainees may take part in the vaccination campaign and act as medical personnel within the framework of their practicums. They may also, apart from their practicums, work in an individual capacity and on a volunteer basis as attendants in vaccination centres. However, they cannot act in a medical capacity outside the context of their practicums. Were the situation to evolve in a way that required students to work outside the context of their practicums in order to support the vaccination campaign, MELS and the MSSS would provide precise information on this matter to the teaching institutions concerned. Health care facilities that avail themselves of the services of trainees are responsible for providing them with the personal protective material they need to perform their tasks and, if need be, will fit test any masks that the trainees may need to wear. Compliance with guidelines Before making any decision on a pandemic-related matter, any educational institution or school board that is not entirely familiar with the guidelines governing the circumstances

5 5 in question should contact the nearest MELS regional office to ensure that it does not contravene the recommendations of the Direction de santé publique or MELS. Additional information For all general information on the Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, please contact Services Québec at You can also obtain additional information by visiting the Web site of Pandémie Québec at For all other questions related to the Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, please contact your MELS regional office.