Nearly one and a half thousand school classes across the country have been switched to distance learning due to a rise in ARI cases. Schools continue to operate as normal, with only those classes where the number of sick pupils exceeds the established thresholds being sent to an online format. This was announced at a press conference at the SCC by the country's chief state sanitary doctor, Sarkhat Beisenova.
According to ORDA, Beisenova noted that if more than 20% of pupils in a class are ill, schools cancel the classroom rotation system, and the children spend the entire day in one room to minimise contact. If more than 30% of pupils are absent due to illness within a single incubation period, the class is switched to distance learning.
Currently, 1,469 classes in 132 schools across the country have been moved to online learning. The highest number of transitions is recorded in the Zhambyl region, where 598 classes in 14 schools are studying remotely. In the Abai region, 276 classes in 21 schools have switched to the online format, and in Astana — 182 classes in 24 schools.
In the East Kazakhstan region, 204 classes in 57 educational institutions are studying remotely, and in the Kostanay region — 168 classes in 12 schools. Schools in the Akmola and Karaganda regions have also partially switched to online learning. Beisenova noted that the sanitary situation is under control.
Meanwhile, according to the East Kazakhstan Region Sanitary Control Department, from 1 October to 17 November, 45,937 cases of ARI were registered in the region, of which 59% were among children. Five cases of Hong Kong flu A/H3N2 were also identified, with four of the sick being children.
In the Abai region, since the start of the school year, more than 5,500 cases of ARI among children and 25 cases of flu have been recorded.
In turn, First Vice Minister of Health Timur Sultangaziyev noted that the circulating influenza virus A/H3N2, which is called Hong Kong flu, is not new.
According to him, this strain was first identified back in 1968, and has been circulating regularly around the world ever since. The virus has been present in Kazakhstan for many years, and its periodic registration is a normal part of the seasonal epidemiological process.
Recall that earlier in Shymkent, it was reported that the epidemiological situation had worsened: the incidence of flu and flu-like infections among children doubled. Due to the influx of patients, the city's children's hospitals became overcrowded.