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Brooklyn, NY - Councilman Urging Classroom Hand Sanitizers |
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Bill de Blasio, a Brooklyn Democrat, said Friday he sent letters to Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other agencies more than a month ago proposing to have hand sanitizers installed in all school classrooms.
He said the city has not responded to his letter.
Swine flu continues to invade parts of the city. On Thursday, three more people died, bringing the city's total of swine flu-related deaths to 15, health officials said. Among the three deaths was an 11-year-old Brooklyn girl who was a student at the Urban Assembly School for Criminal Justice in Borough Park, school officials and de Blasio said.
A school official, who declined to give her name Friday, said a note was sent home with students about the death. She also said Principal Mariela Graham is meeting with parents over the matter.
The school's Parent-Teacher Association declined to comment.
De Blasio said his proposal would cost about the $750,000, compared with the $10 million the city has already spent on its swine flu response.
In an April 20 letter addressed to Bloomberg, de Blasio wrote that "we must act now to protect the safety and health" of the city's 1.1 million public school students.
"We should be taking every precaution to prevent the spread of swine flu and keep our children safe," he said in a statement.
The Bloomberg administration didn't immediately return a request seeking comment to de Blasio's proposal.
Some schools have voluntarily placed hand sanitizers in its classrooms since the swine flu outbreak started in the city in April in Queens.
In a public health briefing last month, then-Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said using soap and water is just as effective as hand sanitizer.
"I never hurts to be cleaner," he said.
Bloomberg chimed in, saying, "It's always good to wash."
Since the initial outbreak, the city Health Department closed dozens of schools to help the slow the spread of influenza. The guideline used to decide school closures include the number of reports of documented flulike illness and the percentage of children absent with flulike illness, health officials said.
On Friday, the city Department of Education reported no schools were closed and all operated at normal levels.
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Read Comments (9) — Post Yours »
1
Jun 12, 2009 at 01:26 PM Anonymous Says:
One good idea might be to have a publicity campaign to eliminate the age old unsanitary custom of shaking hands. There are pens available with an antimicrobial coating on them. Why can't coverings for door handles with an anticrobial coating be developed? We need to encouage people to wash their hands more often, especially before eating, and after handling money. People should carry alcohol hand wipes with them to use when there is no place available for them to wash their hands.
2
Jun 12, 2009 at 02:25 PM Anonymous Says:
It would be nice if all the local shuls and yeshivas would get soap and paper towels. Thos dirty towels on a rod really transmit diseases.
3
Jun 12, 2009 at 03:00 PM Anonymous Says:
“ It would be nice if all the local shuls and yeshivas would get soap and paper towels. Thos dirty towels on a rod really transmit diseases. ”
i did notice, in the yeshivah where i work, they got rid of those smelly dirty towells. thank you!
4
Jun 12, 2009 at 03:36 PM Pinny Says:
DeBlasio is a real Mench, he is just practical. Why is he not running for City Council again?
5
Jun 12, 2009 at 04:37 PM gr8ideas Says:
I think this is a great idea!! I think hand sanitizers should be mounted in shuls and yeshivas too. There is no crime in being germ-free, swine flu pandemic or not.
6
Jun 12, 2009 at 05:20 PM Anonymous Says:
It's a good time to remind everyone that proper handwashing means soap, very warm water AND (what most people miss) is washing for a full 20 seconds. Most of us forget that and just splash and go. Count slowly to 20 while you lather up.
7
Jun 12, 2009 at 05:54 PM Anonymous Says:
should b every where. all schools shuls churches city buildings. our surroundings are dirty doesn't mean we have to b.even though that is how our bodies build immunity is by dealing with these germs.. I still like the idea of having some type of hand cleaner near by.
8
Jun 12, 2009 at 06:37 PM Anonymous Says:
Bloomberg has been mum throught this crisis handling it terribly irresponsible. They are also under reporting the amount of flue cases in NY. I would say about 25% of BP children have or have had the flue in the past week
Bloomberg is all about money!
9
Jun 13, 2009 at 12:29 PM Anonymous Says:
On May 14, 2007, Fox23-TV in Tulsa reported that 4-year-old Halle Butler of Okmulgee, Oklahoma was hospitalized with symptoms of intoxication after ingesting a small amount of hand sanitizer in her pre-kindergarten classroom.