Education is a labour-intensive, service activity, and the more qualified, skilled and experienced the labour, the better the sector will serve the country. The supply of labour may be affected by the epidemic. There is some evidence to suggest that teachers may be more susceptible to infection than other groups, the reason being that their higher incomes and greater mobility are important risk factors. In many countries, teachers may be posted to areas away from their families. This is particularly important as government employees tend to have generous sick leave packages, thus staff may be on the payroll for long periods, but not able to work or be replaced.
Teachers are likely to experience the same levels of mortality as comparable professions.
Evidence suggests that this may rise from about 0.4 to 2.7 per cent of the cohort aged 20 to 40. Clearly this is a cause for concern where teachers are already in short supply. There may also be a problem with financial resources. The problem of funding from parents and the community has already been raised. Governments may also face problems with the education budget line as there are increasing demands for health and welfare.