Respiratory diseases have been on the rise recently. From November 21st to December 1st, 172 classes in primary and secondary schools in our city started online teaching due to influenza. The Tianjin Municipal Education Commission has made it clear that online teaching can be started if the cumulative number of influenza-like cases in a class reaches 30% or more, and online teaching generally lasts for 4 days. At the same time, each school can appropriately slow down the teaching progress according to the situation of the students. It is not recommended that parents ask their children to catch up on and make up homework while they are sick.
China's educational authorities have called on schools nationwide to enhance disease monitoring, while advising students and teachers with fever or cough to seek timely and scientific medical treatment and not to come to school while sick, as the country continues to witness a surge in respiratory illness this winter.
In the newly released notice on Tuesday, the Ministry of Education introduced six key measures to schools and educational departments to guide them in coping with winter epidemics and to maintain the general health of teachers and students and normal study in the educational system.
The ministry warned of a possible overlapping of multiple disease outbreaks. "Scientific and effective responses will be made to respond to overlapping epidemic periods and alternating epidemic peaks of various epidemic diseases that may occur," it noted.
The notice also emphasized the importance of schools maintaining communication with local health and disease prevention departments in order to effectively handle the spread of disease on campuses.
