Schools restart in Grozny

The quarantine, introduced in Grozny a week ago because of outbreak of acute respiratory diseases (ARDs), is cancelled. All the 40 schools of the city have resumed their work in full, as the spokesman from the department of education of the city of Grozny told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"The quarantine was introduced in schools of Grozny last Monday, November 23, under recommendations of doctors. The checks conducted in schools then showed that the level of respiratory diseases among schoolchildren was from 35 to 70 percent, while absence of 20 percent of pupils at lessons is enough for introduction of quarantine," said the source.

The Republic's Ministry of Public Health reports that suspension of studies in schools of Grozny was caused by a flu outbreak. "However, the point is not the so-called 'swine flu' but other, less dangerous, disease varieties. After introduction of quarantine, disinfection of premises was conducted in all educational institutions of Grozny. It should also be noted that this year's ARD morbidity threshold is comparable with the last year's one," said the Ministry.

Physicians also assert that swine flu epidemic has bypassed the republic. However, as local residents assert, at least two deaths from this virus were registered in Chechnya; women were casualties in both cases.

However, the Ministry of Public Health is convinced that there is no swine flu in Chechnya.