Schools have to be sterilized before classes resume next week, he said.

When classes resume, schools have to keep the premises clean and keep students' sick leave records, he said.

Parents have to take temperature reading of children before school everyday, he said.

Children with symptoms of influenza should rest at home. Those with fever should not go to school until at least two days after the fever subsides, he said.

Parents should notify schools if their children have been admitted to hospitals, he said.

As for future class-suspension arrangements, Suen said the Education Bureau and the Department of Health will evaluate various factors in individual cases before making a decision.

These factors include the number of severe flu cases in a district, whether the number of students being admitted to hospitals is above one percent of the total number of students in a school, and the number of students being admitted to intensive care unit due to influenza, he explained.

He admitted the government did not give parents enough time to prepare for the class suspension and he promised future class-suspension announcements will be made early and during the daytime.

Centre for Health Protection controller Thomas Tsang said six children have been admitted to hospitals since March 13 due to severe complications of influenza.

The number is at a stable level and similar to the weekly average in the last few years, he said.

He believed there will be some cases of influenza after classes resume because Hong Kong is still in the influenza season.

He also said initial analysis by the expert group set up to investigate into the three children's deaths showed that no influenza virus was found in the 2-year-old child who died in Prince of Wales Hospital.

Principals and parents welcomed the government's school-resumption announcement.

Cheung Chi-hung, chairman of the Hong Kong Aided Primary School Heads Association, said he is satisfied with the early announcement as it allows a few days for schools to get prepared, such as distributing notices to and meeting with parents.

He said schools have been enforcing similar guidelines as the ones announced by the government yesterday.

(HK Edition 03/27/2008 page1)