Taking Precautions

There is an increasing count of confirmed cases of AH1N1 in the Philippines, and though death number is still zero, private companies and government institutions worry for the possible contamination in the work force. The company I work for is no different, this week a new rule has been made. Anyone who has sore throat, cough, or runny nose is required to wear surgical mask when reporting to the office. Employees who have fever and flu are required to take sick leave at least a week to prevent virus from spreading.

Schools, as expected, are also enforcing safety measures. At my sister's elementary school, any child who has symptoms of the flu is excused from attending classes. I am in no way against any of these safety precautions, but I was bothered that this morning, the guidance councilor made my sister go home because she saw her coughing. She wasn't sick, she was just coughing because of the dust as someone was sweeping the grounds. So we know that if the school management think that the child is sick they can let her go home, but she did not even offer to call us to fetch my sister. Instead, she told my sister to leave right away.

We live near the school, it's just around three blocks far, but to get to our house you have to cross two streets, one of which was Quirino Ave. If you live in Malate you would know that this street is dangerous. Children, especially those who walk home from school are warned to be careful when crossing, because vans and trucks appear from all directions, and it's not only sometimes that they don't follow the street light. The counselor did not even bother to know how my sister would go home. Clearly, she's inside the school and whoever brought her to school already went home thinking she's safe inside, right?

Thankfully, my sister did not dare cross the street, but rather called a pedicab (not exactly the safest thing to do either, but luckily it was a pedicab driver my dad knows) which she did not have money to pay for. When they arrived she rushed to me to ask money to pay to the driver. And from this you'd know I'm really displeased with what the conselor did. I know that she was just worried for the other students, in case my sister really had the flu, and that it's their responsibility to ensure that the flu won't spread on her territory. But then, my sister is still part of their responsibility. She should not have just told my sister to go home without bothering to know if she actually can. Whether she did have the flu or not, she's still a student in that school and her safety should also be considered, RIGHT?