News
Viral infection, another setback for frustrated students
Schools are set to reopen next week for the second term, but once again, children have been asked to stay away.
Last week, the Western Province announced that all pre-schools would be closed until further notice citing hand and mouth disease that has been spreading.
In the last two years, children went through rough times, with schools being closed because of the coronavirus disease pandemic. Only in 2022, normalcy returned with schools being opened for all children for the academic year.
The Lady Ridgeway Hospital said a number of patients have sought treatment for the disease and advised parents to be cautious.
Director G. Wijesooriya said that parents whose children have a high temperature and presenting with rash on the hands and mouth, should seek immediate medical attention.
In addition, the inclement weather in the past weeks is playing havoc with many dengue patients being reported in the last few days.
On Friday, around 20 patients below 14 years were admitted to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital.
Also, schoolchildren attending other grades from tomorrow will face several hassles because only a few buses are operating.
The Private Bus Owners Association has reduced operations due to lack of diesel.
Gemunu Wijeratne, who heads the group, said requests to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation for special permits have been ignored.
“We are running a fleet of 6,000 buses. Our association has around 20,000 members,’’ he said.
However, he said maximum efforts will be made to operate buses during school starting and closing hours.
Operators of school service vans, the All Island School Children Transport Association, said that they have no choice but to increase hiring charges.
Macsiri de Silva, the head, said individual van owners will negotiate with parents.
“We feel sorry for the parents but we have no choice,’’ he said.
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