Infantile Paralysis

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 50, 15 March 1937, Page 6

Infantile Paralysis

HASTINGS SCHOOLS CLOSED Four Cases Reported in District APPEAL BY MR MADDISON Schools in Hastings and the surrounding districts have been closed as from this afternoon as a precauiionary measure, there having been reported four cases of infantile paralysis in the district. All public gatherings of children have been debarred, and patents are urg&atly urged to refrain from allowing their children to congregate in groups. The aHnouncement oi the closure was made this morning by Mr. G. A. Maddison, chairman of the Hawke's Bay Education Board. He said that after seeuring advice and information from various quarters he had comaiunicated with the Minister of Health, the Hon. P. Fraser, and offieers o£ the Department of Health, and it had been decided to close down the schools in a defined area round Hastings until Tuesday, March 30 (just after Easter). ' ' The position as regards infantile paralysis in this district is rather alanning, and I have aseertained that there are four definite cases, two in the borough of Hastings, one at Havelock North and one at Whakatu," said Mr Maddison in a statement this morning. ' 1 Consequently, I had a conference with a representative of the medical profession and as an outcome I telephoned the Minister of Health. It has been arranged that the following schools be closed until the Tuesday following Easter; — ■Mangateretere, Clive, Clive Grange, Havelock North, Pakipaki, Twyford, and the five primary schools in Hastings and the High School." "The regulations restricting children attending picturea and other public gatherings will again become operative imaaediately, " he added. "And I make a very special and urgent appeal to the people of this district to prevent their children from congregating in groups, as this is of the utmost importance in preventing a spread of the disease. "I realise that this further break in che children 's school year will bo serious to their education," he said, ' ' but the board here is endeavouring to arrange for more intensive and suitable instruction over the air and by other means, so as to enable the children to carry on the best they can in their own homes. "1 again appeal to the people for their co-operation in this matter so that we can overtake, as far as possible, the handicaps the children will suffer througfi non-attendance at school," he coneluded. The Hastings High School will remain closed until after Easter, and th© annual athletic sports at th© school, which were to have been held this weekj have been postponed indefinitely. Homework for pupils to do during che enforeed holiday period is to be published shortly in th© Herald-Tri-bune.