17 August 2009
Staff from Jersey’s Public Health Department will be taking to the streets of St Helier this week to raise awareness about the importance of basic hygiene in the fight against swine flu.
Today (17 August) health staff will be outside Marks and Spencer in King Street, between 11.30am and 2.30pm, showing people how to wash their hands properly with a “wash and glow” machine – a device which uses UV light to highlight dirt which is often missed when hand washing.
Medical Officer of Health, Dr Rosemary Geller, said: “Over the next few weeks, we want to highlight the Catch it, Bin it, Kill it message by making people realise the importance of washing their hands and using tissues to stop germs spreading.
“Jersey is still trying to contain this new virus by limiting its spread until the vaccine arrives. While the number of cases seems to be falling at the moment, we cannot rely on this to continue and we are still expecting a rise in cases when the children return to school.”
Health staff will be holding a tissue amnesty in King Street at lunchtime on Wednesday 19 August, when they’ll be encouraging people to bin their used tissues and rewarding them with a pocket pack of tissues. They will also be in town on Friday 21 August handing out balloons branded with ‘Catch it, Bin it, Kill it’.
Anyone who has a fever (usually with temperature 38 degrees or more) and flu symptoms should stay at home and call their GP, or if well enough to go out, make an appointment at their GP’s special flu clinic. It is important that people do not go to A&E as this runs the risk of spreading the virus into the hospital.
The flu helpline, which provides general information for the public, is open Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.30pm and the number to call is 445566. Anyone needing medical advice will need to contact their GP.
gov.je