Sale of hand sanitisers has surged in the last few days as concerns rises over the increase in H1N1 cases in Brunei in recent weeks. Picture: BT/Ummi Othman

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

PARENTS of schoolchildren have taken the fight against the Influenza A (H1N1) epidemic into their own hands literally following a report by the Ministry of Health (MoH) of 194 new cases in the first week of February and the temporary suspension of H1N1 mass vaccination campaign.

Staff at five Guardian pharmacies yesterday told The Brunei Times that sale of hand sanitisers has surged in the last few days.

“The most popular hand sanitisers are the ones with cartoons on the containers,” said Aliah Zakaria, 25, the supervisor of the Guardian branch at Tanjung Bunut. “I just ordered 25 more of each of the four scents (of the kids’ hand sanitisers that Guardian sells),” she added.

Aliah said that almost all customers who bought the cartoon-covered sanitisers were parents of children in primary schools or kindergarten.

A 36-year-old father of three, who asked to remain anonymous, said that he buys only the hand sanitisers with the cartoon covers because of his children. “Even after taking H1N1 vaccination, I still buy a sanitiser for each person in my family because it has become a habit to use the sanitisers whenever we are out,” he said.

Apart from sanitisers, all Guardian branches in Brunei-Muara have almost ran out of face masks. Stocks ran out after companies bought in bulk for their staff, she said, adding that they have ordered more face masks.

Meanwhile, some schools have reintroduced compulsory temperature checks. Schools, along with government and private offices, set up temperature checks in mid-July last year to ensure that the body temperature of those entering the buildings do not exceed 37C, one of the symptoms of H1N1.

A 26-year-old female teacher from a Sixth Form Centre in Brunei-Muara District said that although temperature screening at her school has been stopped at the start of the semester in January, they have resumed it after new cases were reported. “All teachers at the school have been rostered to conduct temperature checks,” she said.

Another female teacher, a 41-year-old IT educator at a higher-education institution near the capital, said that her school has not conducted the temperature screenings since early December. “Now that (the H1N1 vaccinations) have been suspended, I think it’s more important to remind the students to be more aware of their hygiene to avoid getting sick,” she said.

At Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (Ripas) Hospital, temperature screening of people entering through the main doors is continuing though in a more relaxed manner.

When Ripas began temperature screening July last year, all entrances were manned and every person entering the hospital was checked. Now, two heat-sensor machines stand guard at the two main entrances, reading and calculating body temperature of each person who walks past the machine.

Hospital staffer Amy, 26, said that if a person with a body temperature higher than 38C is detected, he is asked to sit down and rest for a while, as body temperatures can rise even after a brisk walk. However, if person’s temperature remains high, he or she will be taken to a doctor for a check-up.

However, across town, an IT Operations Manager working for a private company in Rimba told The Brunei Times that his company has not conducted temperature checks since late November after the introduction of the H1N1 vaccinations.

“Most of my colleagues have already taken the shots, so I don’t really mind if we don’t have temperature checks anymore,” he said.

More than 30,000 Bruneians have been vaccinated against H1N1 since the MoH mass immunisation began in November.

Although the MoH has yet to announce a confirmed date when the mass vaccinations will resume, a MoH staffer answering the H1N1 hotline (145 during office hours or 7180991 after office hours) said that they might resume next week. Ummi Othman The Brunei Times

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