Korean students to have temperatures checked each morning

SEOUL, Aug. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's elementary and secondary school teachers will take the body temperature of all their pupils at school gates every morning and sterilize classrooms daily as part of the government's all-out campaign to stem the spread of the influenza A (H1N1) virus, government officials said Wednesday.

The government has instructed all schools nationwide to educate their students on
the importance of hand-washing and personal hygiene, the officials said, adding
schools will also refrain from organizing group activities, like out-of-school
excursions and sports meetings.
In addition, the government will push to prioritize elementary and secondary
school students in a national inoculation campaign against the flu set to go into
full swing in November, they said.
The latest measures were announced by the education and health ministries in a
joint news conference in Seoul, as a growing number of schools across South Korea
have been forced to close due to flu outbreaks.
Fears of influenza A are rapidly spreading here, as the number of South Koreans
diagnosed with the highly infectious viral respiratory disease topped 3,300
earlier this week. Influenza A, known worldwide as the swine flu, has already
claimed the lives of two South Koreans.
As of Wednesday, a total of 926 students at 400 schools nationwide have been
confirmed as flu patients, while 46 schools have closed or delayed opening after
the month-long summer break, according to government data.
Meanwhile, the education ministry has asked private educational institutes across
the nation to close for longer than seven days if any of their students or
lecturers is found to be infected with the influenza A virus.
ycm@yna.co.kr