Class dismissed

The flu outbreak is about to hit tutorial schools and Internet cafes hard thanks to new drastic moves by the government.

At its meeting yesterday, the Cabinet approved a measure to close down all tutorial schools from Monday to July 28. Internet cafes have been asked to either close down over the same period or tighten their hygiene standards and bar anyone with flulike symptoms from entering.

So far the disease has led to 14 deaths in Thailand.

Doors shut to students

Da' Vance tutorial school was yesterday preparing to close its doors.

"To us, students' safety is always the first priority," the school's executive Pecharat Rattanamethanon said.

Located in Bangkok's Chinatown, Da' Vance is crowded with students during school hours.

Since Thailand reported its first influenza A (H1N1) case in May, the school has been regularly cleaned with disinfectant. Face masks were also handed out to students and disinfectant hand gel made available at the front door.

The same precautions are in place at Junior Intelligent Academy (JIA), another tutorial school preparing to close. Staff at JIA have been on the alert for any students showing flulike symptoms.

"Catchup classes are available, so students' learning will not interrupted," said Thipawan Unhakarn, JIA's manager.

High school students and parents won't be too worried about the break since the admission exams don't start until October.

'Clean floors, computers'

Culture Minister Teera Slukpetch said Internet shops that chose to remain open must clean floors and computer equipment regularly.

"Wipe them rather than sweeping or whisking," he said.

Teera added that the establishments should ensure good ventilation and strictly bar anyone with flulike symptoms.

Kwanhatai Samakeetham, an employee at Phuket's Success Internet Cafe clerk, said she was willing to cooperate with the government but wondered whether the measures were necessary.

"We already clean our equipment regularly and the number of customers has dropped because everyone wants to avoid public areas," she said.

Waraporn Imsiri, who manages an Internet cafe in Bangkok's Bearing area, said her place attracted up to 100 customers a day.

"We have good ventilation and we disinfect all equipment regularly," Waraporn said.