By Liew Hanqing

LIFE should go on as normal but with some extra care, says the Ministry of Health about the outbreak of Influenza A(H1N1).

Large-scale events, such as the inaugural Asian Youth Games (AYG), are going on as planned.

Sports galore outside, but in schools, sporting and other co-curricular activities are being scaled back.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) has encouraged schools to trim co-curricular activities to minimise the congregation of students.

Ironically, as AYG marches on full steam ahead, inter-school sports competitions have been put on hold.

Schools have also implemented a host of precautionary measures, including the stopping of certain outdoor events, to slow the spread of H1N1 here.

Adding to the mixed signals is the fact that while many CCAs and non-essential activities have been scaled back, in line with MOE's recommendations, physical education has been proceeding as usual.

Still monitoring situation

Madam Tan Bee Sim, principal of Deyi Secondary School, said PE lessons are continuing as usual, as they involved smaller groups of students compared to CCA gatherings.

She said: 'Most of our CCAs are suspended for this week. We're still monitoring the situation and I'm not sure when the activities will resume again.'

Peirce Secondary School has also suspended all its CCA meetings. Said principal Sim Chong Boon: 'We are not having CCAs at all, because we are still assessing the cases of students who are unwell.

'PE lessons are still ongoing, because they are part of the curriculum. PE classes are the same size as that of a normal class. So far, we have had no negative feedback from parents about how we are handling the situation.'

And while most CCAs at Hua Yi Secondary School will stop this week, practice sessions for school's dance troupe will continue in preparation for the upcoming Singapore Youth Festival.

Principal Mabel Leong said the school had decide to give most CCA groups a break, not just because of the H1N1 situation, but also because of the hot weather.

'It's easy for the students to get dehydrated. Basically, if it's not necessary for the groups to meet, they will not meet,' she said.

Similarly, students at Kent Ridge Secondary School will not attend their CCA meetings for the time being, except those who are in performing arts groups involved in the school's upcoming Awards Day this Saturday.

Parents whom The New Paper spoke to were divided on the attitude the authorities should adopt with regards to H1N1.

Mrs Catherine Gasper, 50, who has a son in Sec1, said she felt it was unnecessary for schools to cancel sports events and CCAs - especially since other large-scale events are going on as planned.

She said: 'I think it's fine to carry on with these activities. We just have to trust that people will act responsibly.

'The flu is so widespread that it will be very difficult to curb it. It would be like trying to stop the spread of the seasonal flu.'

Agreeing, Mrs Anna Lim, 45, a mother of three, said she felt that simply cancelling CCAs would not be effective in curbing the spread of H1N1.

She said: 'The children may be out roaming elsewhere, even if CCAs are cancelled. I feel like the official guideline is not that clear and that I'm getting mixed signals.

'On one hand, they are suspending many CCAs. On the other hand, school is going on normally, and big events such as the AYG is still going on.

'Later, we hear about some schools closing, but others remain open. It can get quite confusing.'

Student Grace Chua, 14, agreed.

'Schools seem to be taking a lot of effort to curb H1N1, but outside school, everything seems to be carrying on as usual.

'I'm not sure how cautious I should be.'

Benita Aw Yeong, newsroom intern

This article was first published in The New Paper.