NYC – Councilmember Bill de Blasio today criticized the City for ignoring alternative proposals to prevent the spread of swine flu and increase community outreach.

Over a month and a half ago when the first cases of swine flu were reported, de Blasio sent letters to the Mayor and agency heads calling for the installation of hand sanitizers in all school classrooms, a measure that would cost approximately 70 cents per student and would help prevent further spread of the illness.

To date, the City has reported spending $10 million on its response to swine flu and will likely spend an estimated total of $100 million.  The Mayor, Department of Education and the Department of Health have yet to respond to de Blasio’s proposal.

“When the swine flu crisis first hit, we called on the City to put hand sanitzers in every classroom.  Over a month and a half later, we are still waiting to hear back.   We should be taking every precaution to prevent the spread of swine flu and keep our children safe. As a public school parent, I am outraged that the City has turned a blind eye to this common sense solution.” said Councilmember Bill de Blasio.

As of yesterday, fifteen people in New York City have died from swine flu, including an 11 year old girl who attended Urban Assembly School for Criminal Justice, which shares a building with Intermediate School 223.  Many of de Blasio’s constituents attend the Intermediate School 223. In addition, yesterday the World Health Organization declared that the swine flu outbreak has become a pandemic.

De Blasio’s office calculated that placing a hand sanitizer dispenser in every public school classroom would cost less than $750,000, based on an average retail cost of $14 – $16 per dispenser and an average class size of 24 students.  Providing this important protection for New York City’s approximately 1.1 million public school students would cost less than 70 cents per student.

De Blasio has previously introduced legislation that would require schools and child care centers to post signs in restrooms and locker rooms containing instructions for preventing the spread of communicable disease. Similar legislation, dubbed the “hand-hygiene bill,” has been introduced at the State level by Assemblyman Dov Hikind.

Maintaining good hand hygiene, including the use of alcohol-based hand cleansers, has been recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention as an effective way to protect against the spread of swine flu.

(YWN Desk – NYC)