|
ESL Forum:
Techniques and methods
in Language Teaching
Games, activities
and teaching ideas
Grammar and
Linguistics
Teaching material
Concerning
worksheets
Concerning
powerpoints
Concerning online
exercises
Make suggestions,
report errors
Ask for help
Message board
|
ESL forum >
Message board > Students ´ returning to school postponed due to the flu
Students ´ returning to school postponed due to the flu
|
zailda
|
Students ´ returning to school postponed due to the flu
|
I live in São Paulo State, precisely in Diadema city. The flu arrived in Brazil several weeks ago and here in my city we ´ve had a growing number of cases fo the past two weeks and two deaths due to the flu registered up to now. Unfortunatelly the situation may get worse and the government ruled that the classes that were to start in the last week of July must be postponed until August 17th.
The official position is that the (called) Swine flu is not more serious than an ordinary flu. 2 people died this week in Diadema: a 5-year-old girl and a pregnant. They said the fact the girl had bronchitis and the woman was pregnant caused their deaths.
I was pregnant several times (6) and caught flu when pregnant but (as you can easily realize) didn ´t die; I also had bronchitis and the same happened. And I ´ve never heard in all my 52 years of life that someone has died due to an ordinary flu. And the government has never postponed classes due to an ordinary flu either.
So I think they are lying or - at least - concealing important information that I ´m sure people should be aware about. Do you have any information about the differences between the swine flu and an ordinary one? For me the government declarations are merely BS to prevent people from panicking. And I also think there might be more people dying with the swine flu than they want to make public.
What do you think? What information can you add that we can ´t get here in Brazil because the government insists on telling us that we have to calm down and nothing serious is happening here...
Zailda Coirano
|
30 Jul 2009
|
|
|
|
mariannina
|
|
In Italy it ´s the same, they say that the swine flu is not more serious than a normal one. Many have been infected from relatives who had been abroad and then it spread but not dramaticaly. No one died here in Italy and school will be opened as scheduled, in september. I ´m very sorry for the people that live in the Countries where the infection is very bad. |
30 Jul 2009
|
|
|
juliamontenegro
|
|
Zailda,
Up here in Petropolis the Mayor determined we postpone it at least one week. He will talk to institutions during next week to inform us if we will or will not start classes then.
WOW, I was surprised.
Universities and SOME (one or two only) schools are not following it by the way.
Down in Rio it seems that classes will start next Monday normally as no one or no media has informed that my sister´s University, for instance, has postponed beggining of classes.
Once again, WOW!
|
30 Jul 2009
|
|
|
libertybelle
|
The only people I have ever heard of who died from the normal flu were older and feeble people, but not young or pregnant.
Sounds like a cover up to me. 
I ´m sorry hear about these deaths and hope you and yours and everyone in your country stays safe.
L
|
30 Jul 2009
|
|
|
GIOVANNI
|
|
Influenza results in an average of 20,000 hospitalizations and 4,000 deaths each year in Canada. So far, H1N1 has produced 55 deaths and 10,000 people who have H1N1, and our flu season hasn ´t started yet. Flu season is due to start around October. I also read that there are more than 40,000 cases in the U.S.
We have also been told that pregnant women and teenagers are more at risk. I even googled it and it says the same thing. Is there a cover-up, who knows.
What I do know is that a friend of mine who works with the Health Department advised me over a year and a half ago that there would be a pandemic of some type, and that the hospitals in our region were getting ready for it.
Last month, one of the cities in our region had a practice drill in case of a crisis of some type. They did not say it was for a pandemic. They said if it was for an emergency.
I know that our country is a leader among the infected and I haven ´t seen people panicking yet. Perhaps in the fall when our flu season starts it may be different. |
30 Jul 2009
|
|
|
moravc
|
I have read and listened carefully to all the information about the swine flu. It seems to me the flu is really a bad one, BUT the reason why people die varies... It is sometimes caused by late diagnosis of that illness or poor health or bad treatment... :-(
They stopped checking people at the airports here as they think it ´s nonsense. The flu is already here and spreading... :-(( In my district there is the highest number of ill...
I have been thinking about what we can do to prevent it... But my conclusion is sad - we can do nothing... IF I were you, I would take care and I would stick up to your family and tried to find support and comfort there. I would care about your family and friends and try to stay away from hazardous areas... You are healthy and quite young and if you had raised six children, you can manage a lot... God bless you!
As we consider to be your "big" family, please share your fears with us, we will try to support you... We live all around the world, but we think about you and pity people of your country...
|
30 Jul 2009
|
|
|
libertybelle
|
A while back we wrote about some of the things we can do to stay safe.
There were some great ideas here on the board, among others:
Eat well
get enough sleep
keep warm (if you ´re in a cold climate)
don ´t kiss all your friends (just as long as the flu is around)
Refrain from having big parties at your home.
and very important
wash your hands often!!! Tell your kids and your students to do the same.
Most kinds of illnesses are spread through touching.
Stay safe
L
|
30 Jul 2009
|
|
|
Sil2009
|
Hi!
Here in Argentina the government has decided to extend winter holidays for two weeks because of the swine flu. Now we have been a month without classes, and they are going to start again next Monday. Many deaths were reported because of the swine flu (165, if I ´m not mistaken) but as Zailda said there might be more people dying of this illness than they want to make public. From my point of view, not even doctors know how to tell swine flu from an ordinary one.
As an example, my brother had all the symptoms of a flu two weeks ago. He immediately went to the local hospital where doctors said the symtoms were those of the swine flu and gave him the suitable medicine for that (tamiflu). He got better in three days.
The thing is, doctors don ´t know whether it is the swine flu or not but they give you the medicine just in case. This is terrible. I don ´t understand how is it that they cannot distinguish between the two illnesses.
As regards Zailda ´s question, I would say that we should avoid crowds, where they might be poeple with this illness; wash our hands frequently and visit the doctor whenever we think we have caught a flu (at least this is what they told us here)
|
30 Jul 2009
|
|
|
fabianazardo
|
|
Zailda,
I´m from SP and and I have been following the suine flu cases.
I don´t think there´s a cover up, I just think our health system sucks and it´s not prepared not only for swine flu, as well as other diseases.
People die of flu every year. However, it ´s not common to see that in the news. And you don ´t die because of the flu, you die due to complications (the same principle as AIDS: the virus doesn´t kill people, but diseases do).
Cause of death rank: 7th leading cause of death in 1999 and 2000 is "pneumonia/influenza" (CDC)
Many people have had the symptons and are ok. God knows what was also wrong with the people who died: anemia, tuberculosis, early pneumonia.
So, take care of your health, as you always do. |
30 Jul 2009
|
|
|
broncesambar
|
|
Please check in youtube: "operacion pandemia" and you ´ll get a lot of info about this swine flu... there ´s business behind it, I ´m sure...
Do take a look, I don ´t know if there is a video in English, there must be for sure... Maybe writing swine flu or something the like,... kisses from Argentina
|
30 Jul 2009
|
|
|
sea camel
|
|
Hello everybody
I like Moravc ´s comforting words. In my country the first victim has fallen... Today. They tell us that not the flu kills but the extra infection(s) you get when you are already weak. They tell us that people who have problems with their lungs, who are pregnant, who are weak,... are at higher risk. So Zailda, when I read your post, I doesn ´t sound like a cover up to me. Getting this flu is already a heavy load for your system. Most of us will recover. But the real risk is in the side infection(s). I get the impression that with this flu a side infection more easily causes people to die especially when these people are already weak. In Belgium people will not get anti-viral medicin unless they are at higher risk. Last winter we had a Hep. A infection at school. We all had to be vaccinated and they especially advised us to wash our hands as much as possible as well as not to touch our mouths with our hands. We always had to use a clean towel/paper to dry our hands! But it ´s a bit different with the flu. I ´m afraid there ´s not much we can do... We can only support each other and not only share our worksheets here but also our anxieties. Talking/writing about it helps!
Kristien |
30 Jul 2009
|
|
1
2
3
Next >
|
