The Scare.

Subject: Precautionary closure of the Office of the College Secretary and the Law Library due to suspected cases of Influenza A (H1N1)

June 9, 2009


This afternoon, a law student who just arrived from the United States and exhibiting flu like symptoms went to the Office of the College Secretary and the Law Library. This is in spite of continued warnings. There are also reports that he was also present in a briefing with the whole sophomore batch yesterday. He shall not be allowed to enlist and register any of his subjects without a medical clearance from the proper authorities.

In view of this, the Office of the College Secretary and the Law Library shall be closed until Monday, June 15, 2009. All staff of these units shall be put on quarantine during this entire time and will be asked to spend the quarantine at home. Parts of the registration process that require presence in Malcolm Hall shall therefore be suspended until Monday. Those who have completed their registration process may still however proceed to payment.

I strongly urge that all students who came in contact with this person during the sophomore briefing also put themselves on voluntary quarantine.

In the meantime, no student shall be allowed to enter Malcolm Hall unless they have official business with the offices that remain open.

This closure applies only to the Office of the College Secretary and the Law Library of the College of Law. This is a precautionary measure should some of the staff in these units have been infected by Influenza A(H1N1). The College Secretary should be informed should any of those on quarantine develop flu like symptoms.

Again, we repeat the following advisory:

(1) Should you have traveled abroad, you are supposed to go on self quarantine for at least ten (10) days after your arrival; and

(2) Should you have come in contact with any person who has just arrived and had not accomplish the self quarantine, you should also go on self-quarantine for at least ten (10) days from the date of your contact with that person.

(3) Contact, for purposes of this advisory means being within six feet of the person concerned making it possible for droplets to be transferred to one’s mouth, nose or eyes.

Any infraction of this advisory may constitute misconduct and shall be prosecuted accordingly.

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The following are recommended actions to minimize the transmission of the disease (from the CDC webpage):

(1) Wash hands frequently with soap and water or use alcohol based hand cleaner when soap and water are not available.

(2) Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.

(3) Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

(4) People who are sick with an influenza-like illness (ILI) (fever plus at least cough or sore throat and possibly other symptoms like runny nose, body aches, headaches, chills, fatigue, vomiting and diarrhea) should stay home and minimize contact with others, including avoiding travel, for 10 days after their symptoms begin or until they have been symptom-free for 24 hours, whichever is longer.

(5) Avoid close contact (i.e. being within about 6 feet) with persons with influenza like illness.

Wearing masks is additional precaution but is not necessary should you not be within close contact with a person who has just come from abroad or who is infected with the virus. Keeping yourself informed about the characteristics of this virus and its modes of transmission is also a good precaution.

Those who need to go on self quarantine should understand that these precautions are not being done to discriminate against them. Rather it is done to protect those who are especially vulnerable to complications arising from the disease.

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I've never been as scared of the swine flu then as I am now. Come to think of it, I went on another attempt to register that fateful day. Sa umaga nga lang. But then, the person suspected of it might have been at school that time already. Medyo parang sinisipon na nga ako e.

Swine flu is now a reality for me, and not just some distant problem anymore.


Aw... Hindi pa pala ako enrolled... T_T


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POSTSCRIPT:

WHO has declared swine flu a pandemic. Read the story here.

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POSTCRIPT # 2:

Pero di pa diyan natapos ang pagka-OA ng College. Sumali pati ang LSG:

June 15, 2009

To all students,

The A(H1N1) virus has been declared a pandemic by the WHO. The following are several steps being taken by the Administration to prevent the spread of the virus in our college. Please be guided accordingly.

I. All students who will enter the College must bring/wear their school IDs. Security guards, wearing medical masks, will be placed in key places around Malcolm Hall. Upon entering, each student will be required to sign a Attestation indicating that you have not arrived from abroad within the past ten days, that you have not been in contact (contact means coming closer than six feet from a person talking, coughing, sneezing, or blowing his/her nose) with anyone who came from abroad within the past ten days, or has not been in contact with anyone who have contracted the Swine flu within the past ten days. You only have to sign the Attestation once until again required by the Administration. A sticker which will be placed on your ID will indicate that you have already signed the form. Expect queues in entering Malcolm Hall, thus please be in school at least thirty minutes earlier than the start of your class.

II. Anyone caught of misrepresentation with respect to the Attestation will be charged with serious misconduct.

The following person will be charged with grave misconduct:

(1) A person who came from abroad, came in contact with a person who came from abroad, or came in contact with a person who has the A(H1N1) flu, all within the past ten days;
(2) comes to school;
(3) has fever (temperature is more than 37.8 degrees Celsius); AND
(4) has at least two of the following: cold, stuffy nose, itchy throat, or cough

On both instances, it does not matter whether or not the person actually is positive for A(H1N1).

III. Anyone who has a fever and at least two of the following: cold, stuffy nose, itchy throat, or cough will be required to inform the College Secretary. The person must isolate him/herself until 24 hours after the last symptom disappear. A clearance/medical report showing that you do not have the A(H1N1) virus from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Alabang, Lung Center in Quezon City, or the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila plus a clearance from the UP Infirmary (UPHS) will also be required to be presented to the College Secretary.

IV. The Dean declared this morning that absences on the ground of self-quarantine are excused. This is to provide incentive to students to observe the advisories and memoranda issued by the Dean with respect to this new pandemic. Contact the College Secretary about your case so you may be excused. However, such absences may be investigated. Anyone caught lying so that he or she may be excused from his or her absences shall be penalized by the administration.

V. For your information, you may check this website to find out which countries have already been affected by the A(H1N1) virus:

http://www.who. int/csr/don/ GlobalSubnationa lMasterGradSym_ 20090612_ 0800.png
This map is updated as of June 12, 2009. Those countries tagged with a red dot have been infected by the pandemic.

If you feel that you have been prejudiced by this new policy, do not hesitate to contact your batch representatives, or the Vice President or President of the LSG. A grievance committee has been formed under the Vice President as chair of the Student Rights and Welfare Committee (STRAW). You may contact him through the LSG Hotline.

We are appealing to everyone to please help prevent the spread of rumors. Rumors about a confirmed case of A(H1N1) hitting a sophomore student or that the start of classes in the College of Law was postponed to the 22nd of June proliferated among the studentry the past few weeks. Rumor-spreading is counter-productive, detrimental to the welfare of the students, and may even cause embarrassment or harm to individuals. Official announcements and notices will come from the LSG when necessary.

Any suggestions to help protect the safety and health of the law school community and our families are most welcome.


Sincerely,


President
UP LSG