A former Government Minister and GP has advised that schools should remain closed to prevent further outbreak of the flu epidemic.
Dr Jim McDaid of Letterkenny, Co Donegal, points to the unseasonably warm weather as a factor for this recent outbreak of flu.
“We need a real long spell of a week’s cold hard frost in order to change this,” he said.
“As long as we have this type of weather then this flu in adults and children in particular are going to be the main people who suffer as a result of this.
“I think that after the Christmas break now, once they go back to school again for a week or two I think the rate of absenteeism is going to go right up.
“You’d be far better off being proactive rather than reactive and saying maybe we should close it down at this stage or at least make some decision.”
He said the current rate of the flu is the worse he has witnessed in more than 40 years.