RP school in Riyadh closed due to A(H1N1)

MANILA, Philippines — A Philippine school in Saudi Arabia has been closed temporarily after some of its students were confirmed to have A(H1N1), a Jeddah-based online news site reported Wednesday. The Arab News report said the Saudi Ministry of Health announced that 20 cases were confirmed on Monday and five more on Tuesday, but officials refused to identify the school. Welfare officer Jose Tomas Octavia of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Riyadh said he has yet to confirm the name of the school that was closed on Monday. Last week, the Future Generation Philippine International School in Suleimaniyah, Riyadh suspended its classes after four of its students caught the flu, a Philippine official said. Philippine Embassy charge d’affaires Romulo Victor Isael said the school reopened on Monday after being shuttered for two days. Another swine flu case among students in another Philippine school in Riyadh has also caused school officials to suspend classes, a source told Arab News. There are 13 Philippine schools in Riyadh, nine such schools in Jeddah, one in Buraidah in the central region and three in the Eastern Province. Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Al-Mirghalani said the ministry is keeping a close watch on all students, their families and teachers of the affected school. “All 25 students were segregated and are taking treatment," he said, adding that the patients would take about six days to recover fully. “If we do not come across any more cases from the group, we may be able to reopen this school after a week," Al-Mirghalani said. As of Wednesday, the number of confirmed A(H1N1) cases in Saudi Arabia was at 184, of which a total of 170 patients have already recovered and released from quarantine. - GMANews.TV