Shan Tao's turn to close

Kota Kinabalu: SJK(C) Shan Tao here was ordered closed for a week effective Tuesday after two of its pupils were tested positive for the influenza A (H1N1) virus.
Shan Tao became the fifth school - and the first primary school in Sabah - to be temporarily shut in the State due to the virus after SM Sains Lahad Datu, SM Sains Kota Kinabalu, SM Kebangsaan Bandaraya and SM Agama Kota Kinabalu.

Deputy Health Minister Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin said health authorities confirmed two pupils had the virus, with 11 pupils from the school down with suspected H1N1 symptoms.
Meanwhile, Shan Tao headmaster Goh Teck Seng said the two H1N1-confirmed pupils, both in Primary Three, had not travelled abroad, pointing out they could have contracted the virus locally.

He also said more than 300 pupils did not turn up to school on Tuesday, after one of the pupils was confirmed with the virus the previous day and news of suspected H1N1 cases were reported in the papers, adding there were more than 1,700 pupils in the school.
Claiming that a Primary Six pupil from the school also tested positive to the virus the same day, he said, the school was closed at about 11am after a discussion between the school administration and health authorities following the pupils developing the flu symptoms.
Health authorities went to the school on Monday, checking and clearing the teaching staff of the virus before screening the pupils.

The school's Parents Teachers Association Chairman, Fung Mou Poon, then organised the pupils in two groups for the health authorities to inspect, to which later they found eight pupils having high fever.
The pupils were isolated at the canteen before their parents came and took them for a check at the hospital. They were later told to go on home quarantine.

A notice by the Health Office was pasted at the entrance, ordering for the temporary closure of the school until Aug. 2.
The pupils were also advised to stay in home quarantine and told to refrain from visiting public places.

If any of them developed symptoms including a body temperature of over 38 degrees Celsius, they should seek immediate medical attention. The school's alumni Chairman, Dr Hiew King Cheu, who is also the MP, also visited the school.