Reader TTS

SCHOOLS FACE BEING SHUT FOR AT LEAST SIX DAYS IF JUST THREE PUPILS IN ONE CLASS ARE SICK WITH SWINE FLU SCHOOLS could be closed if “three pupils in one class” fall ill with swine flu in a

week, says Education Minister Luc Chatel. The decision would be made by the regional préfet, who would decide whether to close one or more classrooms or the entire school. Schools would only

be reopened after six consecutive days of closure if the pupils and teachers were no longer considered contagious, and if the school had been thoroughly cleaned. Mr Chatel has already

announced that lessons would be broadcast on TV and radio this term to help children keep up to date. The rentrée is to go ahead as normal on September 2 as there was no provision for the

care of children outside school. Meanwhile, Paris Socialist MP Jean-Marie Le Guen has raised fears over the ability of hospitals in the city to cope if the pandemic strikes – and said people

in the Ile de France would be put at risk if health staff were forced to work short-handed. The French blood donor agency EFS (Etablissement Français du Sang) also warned that supplies

could be hit by a double blow: with fewer donors because of illness and fewer personnel to keep the service running.