The past few weeks there have been some reports of Swine Flu infection on Jeju island, and as a precaution, all schools, hagwon and public, are enforcing several methods to stop it from spreading.
EPIK teachers, who have either gone home during the last month or who have just arrived, have been given a week off just to make sure they don't have anything they could spread to the kids. Suddenly, Swine Flu doesn't sound that bad.
I've heard from other hagwon teachers that directors have been going around checking both students and teachers with ear thermometers, yet in most cases, haven't been washing them between uses. That's just gross.
At my own school, we've started making the kids wash their hands with disinfectants as they enter the school and have put up instruction/warning sheets around the school on what to do in case of H1N1 symptoms that are found. From what I gather, it's anyone who coughs, has a sore throat, or any flu like symptoms is supposed to be separated from the class and then sent to the hospital.
Despite all that's going on, it seems to me that most of what has been put into place is just to sooth parents' minds about their children. I'm pretty sure nothing serious is really going to happen, and even if it did, that our efforts wouldn't do much to stop it. But at the very least, now is probably the best time if you're a teacher to get away with taking that sick day you've always been dreaming of.
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