INFANTILE PARALYSIS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 29, 3 February 1916, Page 2

INFANTILE PARALYSIS.

THREE FRESH CASES. SCHOOL HOURS CURTAILED. It was stated on inquiry being made at the Health Office this afternoon that up till :i p.m. notification had been reri'iverl of three fresh cases of infantile paralysis. BOARD'S DECISION. CASES IX THE COUNTRY. PAPATEOTOE TAKES ACTION". As briefly reported in last night's "Star."' the Auckland Education Board yesterday afternoon decided to curtail school hours from 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m., in consequence of the outbreak of infantile paralysis and the abnormal heat. The chairman (Mr. G. J. Garland) presented a memorandum (published yesterday I from Dr. MacKellar, medical adviser to the Board, and this was followed by the reading of a letter from Hamilton, intimating that seven cases ■of the disease had occurred there. The chairman outlined the steps he ; had taken in connection with the outbreak, mentioning that he had had consultations with the District Health Officer nnd various medical men concerning the desirability or otherwise of re-open-ing the schools. Several of the doctors were strongly of opinion that it was inadvisable to open them, and one doctor even went so far as to suggest that the schools should not be opened at all during January and February on account of the heat of the Auckland climate. Personally he could not remember so long a spell of close, north-easterly weather, aud. in view of the opinions he had had the benefit of. he concurred with the medical view that the schools should be closed. HEAD OFFICE INSTRUCTIONS. The District Health Officer informed him. however, that he had received information from the head office in Wellington that it was not considered essential to close the schools. Naturally, after that he could not take it upon himself to close the schools yesterday, but the anxiety of parents in regard to the matter could he gauged by the fact that ho had been stopped at every street corner by people who deemed the closing of the schools to be desirable. Mr. Oar land added, at a later stage, that whih' the closing of the school probably would not, in the slightest degree, affect the progress of the epidemic, it was impossible for children to work in crowded rooms in the heat of this weather. In the course of the discussion several members agreed that the abnormal heat warranted the closing of the schools oc the curtailing of the hours. Mr. A. Burns expressed the opinion j that the closing of the schools would make little difference to the outbreak. at the children congregated together as much outside the school as in. Nevertheless, he agreed that the curtailment of the working hours was desirable, and moved to restrict them to between 0 a.m. and 12.:l0. Mr. (!. \V. Murray seconded. Mr. R. C. Smith declared that the schools were too crowded' for thU weather. The chairman moved an amendment that the schools be closed until February 25th. Mr. A. R. Harris sugested that tho matter should be deferred until the next meeting. I Cries of dissent.) Mr. Garland admitted that the closing of the schools probably would not make an atom of difference to the epidemic, hut it was for the good of the children that they should be closed this weather Mr. E. C. Banks declared that to closo the schools during this month would b<! an admission that the Board had not been doing its duty in the past, and that the school holidays should have been fixed for later in the year. The proposal was going too far. The Chairman: We have never had an occurrence like this. There is no year within the recollection of the Board when the muggy weather has continued for so long. PAPATOETOE'S DECISION. 1 ltimately the chairman agreed to withdraw his amendment, on the understanding that the decision of the Board might be subject to revision at the next meeting, and the proposed curtailment was agreed to. In the course of the mooting a letter was read, notifying thatNthe local committee at Papatoetoe had closed the school on account of infantile paralysis. It was stated that there had not been a single case in the district, and that the committee had acted contrary to the instructions of the office. The Board decided to notify the Committee that the school must be re-opcne-J from 0 a.m. to 12.30 in common with oth c _ schools.