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The Athens municipality decided that from today two schools in Athens will remain closed, because there are swine flu infected children and teachers. In the high school in Melisia there are two sick children in one class and in another – seven children, who have swine flu symptoms.

A high school in Haydari will also remain closed for seven days, where two teachers are infected with the new virus and 15 students have some symptoms. The sick children from both schools are being treated at their homes. The two students from Melisia were admitted in the hospital. One of them was released and is being treated in his home and the other one is still in the hospital with a mild pneumonia but his condition is improving by the day.

Experts warn that after the school closes the children should not be let outside their houses, in order for the taken measures to be effective. The news from abroad are disturbing, because 90% of the students from closed schools have went outside their homes and 20% of them have even went to parties. This was actually the main argument against closing all schools but the Pandemic Commission in Greece decided that there is no other way to win time and to limit the infection to be spread, until the vaccines arrive.

The latest decision is to dismiss all classes, in which more than 10% of the students are missing. Counting absences remains the main “instrument” for tracking the dissemination of the disease in schools, where there are more than 1.4 million people. Right now more than 7000 people, which is 0.5% out of all students in Greece, are absent from school - a percentage, which is expected to increase very soon to 2% or even 3% (30 000 to 40 000 people).

In order to protect children from the disease, the Thessaloniki “Figs” neighborhood mayor Simos Danilidis decided to put thermal cameras in all kindergartens. Already there is one in the biggest kindergarten in the neighborhood and during the following days the municipality will install cameras in another 15 kindergartens.