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Medical Information


HK Government website for the Centre for Health Protection (CHP)

Please click here to download an information sheet about Head Lice.

Precautions to avoid H5N1 infection

In view of the regional outbreaks of avian influenza, please be assured that we are following hygiene regulations carefully and are taking all the preventive measures as recommended by the Department of Health.

The school has also stopped all contact with live birds.

For further information, please visit the Department of Health website.

  • Update from the World Health Organisation

Guidelines on the Prevention of SARS

Due to the different nature of epidemics/illnesses the School will act according to the advice of the HKSAR Health Department and the Education and Manpower Bureau. Should a school closure occur, teachers will stay in Hong Kong to provide students with learning materials and homework and to perform other administrative tasks.

Please visit the websites below for further information:

Department of Health
Education Bureau

For temperature sheets, please click here (PDF, 51KB).

Prevention - Personal Hygiene

  • Build up good body immunity by having a proper diet, doing regular exercise, taking adequate rest, reducing stress and avoiding smoking.
  • Maintain good personal hygiene.
  • Wash hands thoroughly after sneezing, coughing or cleaning the nose; before eating/drinking; after visiting toilets; after playing with toys or animals/pets; and before touching eyes/nose/mouth. Use liquid soap for washing hands and disposable towels for drying hands; do not share towels.
  • Staff members and students who have mild respiratory tract infective symptoms should wear facemasks to reduce the chance of spreading the disease. (School will keep a sufficient stock of facemasks for emergency use)
  • Avoid visiting crowded places with poor ventilation.
  • Parents must take their children's temperature every day before going to school and the temperature record sheet must be shown to the school. Staff also monitor their own temperatures.
  • If a student/staff member has a fever or is not feeling well, he/she should take a rest at home and seek medical advice.
  • Be aware of signs and symptoms of SARS (fever and other symptoms like body pain and lack of energy, chill, headache, cough and shortness of breath - seek medical advice immediately).
  • Parents of students and staff members must inform the school if they have visited places with cases of SARS so that the school can then monitor the temperature of these students/staff members for 10 days to double check the temperature taken by parents/staff members.
  • Staff will wear gloves when handling wounds, nose bleeds and soiled articles and wash their hands properly.

Environmental Hygiene

  • Follow the Department of Health's (DH) guidelines on environmental hygiene.
  • Keep school premises clean and ensure good ventilation:
  • Open windows before and after lessons to allow good ventilation.
  • Keep air-conditioners well maintained and clean the dust-filters frequently.
  • Open windows to improve ventilation under crowded conditions.
  • Keep toilets clean (after recess, lunch and school) with disinfectant (such as diluted household bleach by mixing 1 part of bleach with 99 parts of water); rinse with water and mop dry before use. Make sure that the flushing apparatus is functioning properly. Provide toilets with liquid soap and disposable towels or hand dryers.
  • Objects and equipment frequently touched by students, such as computer keyboards, will be wiped regularly with diluted household bleach.
  • Clean furniture and non-washable toys regularly (at least once a day) with towels soaked in disinfectant (diluted household bleach 1:99, or 70% alcohol for metallic surfaces), rinse with water and them mop dry.
  • Clean washable toys (at least once a day) by immersing them in diluted household bleach 1:99 for 30 minutes before ordinary washing. Do not use toys made of absorbent materials, e.g. wool.
  • Soak towels and linen in diluted household bleach 1:99 for 30 minutes before ordinary washing.
  • Do not wash soiled belongings/clothes of children in school; put them in plastic bags for collection by their parents instead.
    If the facilities are contaminated with vomit, wear gloves, wash/wipe with diluted domestic bleach (mixing 1 part of bleach with 49 parts of water)immediately.
  • Disinfectant mats will be placed at all entrances of the school.
  • Remind the school bus / van driver and assistant that if they have a fever, they should not drive / get on the bus/van and to inform the school and parents at once so that alternative arrangements can be made.
  • Tuck shop, lunch box and water dispensers will be kept clean at all times

Other Arrangements

The School will notify the DH if there is an unusual increase in absentees with symptoms similar to those of SARS, e.g. fever, cough, headache, body pain and lack of energy.

Staff Members/ Students under home confinement

  • Staff members and students who have had close contact* with confirmed/suspected cases of SARS must stay away from school for home confinement/observation for ten days.
  • Close contact means having cared for; having lived with, or having had direct contact with respiratory secretions and body fluids of a person with SARS. *
  • The Government has introduced the home confinement/observation requirement for people who have close contact with confirmed/suspected SARS patients. The DH will issue a letter to the affected staff member/student, requiring him/her to stay away from school for home confinement for 10 days. If the suspected case turns out to be non-SARS, the DH will inform the staff member/student concerned as soon as possible so that he/she can return to school. The DH will issue a medical certificate to the staff member/student concerned and the leave during the home confinement should be treated as sick leave.
  • If a school has learned of any such cases as above, it will report these cases to the District School Development Section immediately.
    The school will clean and disinfect the affected areas as specified by the DH. All students and staff will be reminded to take precautions accordingly.
    If a school has learned from other channels that a student/staff member has had close contact with cases diagnosed with SARS, the school will confirm the information with the district officer of the DH for follow-up in the first instance, before reporting to the Regional Education Office.
  • The School will issue the following letters:
    Letter to staff member/student required to stay at home for confinement
    Letter to all parents (reminding them to keep watch of health conditions, consult the doctor and inform the school and the DH if any symptoms of SARS are observed.)
  • Home confinement may result in worries and/or stress. The school counsellor/teacher will provide the affected persons with counselling. If necessary, the school may contact the Regional Education Office to arrange psychological services.
  • To alleviate the impact on the affected student, the school will provide support for learning via telephone, e-mail, fax or the school homepage with the help of his/her classmates and/or teachers

Confirmed Case of SARS in a Staff member or Student

  • If a staff member/ student is confirmed/suspected to have contracted SARS, the whole school will suspend classes for ten days. The commencement date of suspension will be counted from the first day of sick leave.
  • If the case turns out to be non-SARS, the DH will inform the Bureau and the latter will arrange class resumption as soon as practicable.
  • The School will decide how to compensate for loss of student's learning time.
  • The School will continually inform all parents of the situation and maintain good communication.
  • Advise parents to be alert to the health condition of their children. If there are any symptoms of SARS, seek medical treatment and inform the school and the DH without delay.
  • Staff members and students confirmed to have had close contact with cases diagnosed with SARS should be confined at home for ten days.
  • The school will monitor health conditions of all the staff members and students and everyone should take the precautionary measures advised.
  • The School will set up a mechanism for collecting information of staff members and students for prompt reporting of details to the DH and EMB.
  • The School will organise learning by implementing the ICT Crisis Plan (December 2003).
    Before resumption of classes, liaise with class mothers (Primary Department) to seek their support in assisting students with wearing facemasks and washing hands, etc.
  • Staff members and students having contracted SARS will be recommended to be confined at home for another 14 days after recovery and discharge from hospital.
  • The School will counsel students, guide them in empathising with infected persons and those put under home confinement/observation, encourage them to care for other people and stimulate them to think of the contributions they can make in the current situation.


Please visit the websites below for further information:

Department of Health

Education and Manpower Bureau

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© 2006 German Swiss International School
Last Modified: Thursday, 13 November 2008 15:44:31