The NDP government has no intention of closing down schools in Nova Scotia in response to the H1N1 pandemic, the province’s education minister said yesterday.
Marilyn More told reporters all public schools will remain open as Nova Scotia heads into the second wave of the pandemic.
“The virus is now in the wider community,” she explained. “Public health officials have told us that closing schools will not be effective in preventing the spread of H1N1.”
While More admitted that circumstances could change as the virus spreads, she said keeping all students and teachers at home would be a drastic measure that could be extremely disruptive.
As of Wednesday, 189 out of the province’s 480 schools had reported higher-than-normal levels of absenteeism. The number of confirmed cases of H1N1 in Nova Scotia continues to climb, but there is still no indication that swine flu is the main cause of the decrease in school attendance.
