Here at my workplace they’re slowly but surely starting to get worried about the swine flu pandemic. Or Mexican flu, as we call it over here.
Although current wisdom is that it will be no worse than our annual visiting flu strain, the simple fact that it is pandemic instead of epidemic seems to generate a hype of epic proportions.
Especially the continued business of government administration appears to be a subject of serious worry.
And that I do not understand.
The greatest worry is that about 30 to 40 per cent of our local civil servants will be bedridden and unable to work.
So what? It’s unlikely that the flu will limit itself to civil servants. So the same percentage of civilians will be ill, as will be the same amount of workers in commercial and other enterprises. So our “customers” will be as bedridden and ill as we, the civil servants.
Effectively the supply and the demand will even each outher out on that basis.
Apart from which, we’ve never been as prepared for a period of flu as we are now. Nearly every year we enjoy a period like this. Yes, more likely later in winter than like now in summer, but we’d be less prepared nevertheless.
So to be honest, to me it looks like a storm in a teacup.
I’d better go home a bit early today, I have a bit of a sore throat…..
I did write a power point briefing on this subject for our organization; but for clarification I am just an employee, I am not an expert. So with the disclaimer out of the way, I believe this; stay clean, wash hands (yes anytime a person goes to the bathroom they should wash their hands) as often as possible, eat right – including fruits and veggies, get enough sleep, and stay home when sick (yes the office will run just fine). If sick – wash all blankets and sheets after sickness, clean the bathroom with bleach or lysol, don’t let anyone visit the sick home, and just follow common sense. As for your sore throat – that is the elevated amount of stress you are feeling due to the news about the FLU.
My opinion I put in the briefing – Be prepared for the worse, take correct actions, but don’t panic.
Great. Of course, right after I posted this, another person died of the flu. So, I guess we will see how it goes. Wash hands – and teach kids to wash hands all the time.
At the risk of sounding callous, I can’t say I’m very impressed so far. World-wide this pandemic has not even caused half the fatalities an ordinary flu attack in winter causes.
One thing this flu does make clear is how easy it is for the media today to cause mass hysteria on a worldwide scale. Aided and abetted by modern tools like internet, email etcetera.
And the most frightening thing about this is that modern media apparently have found no moral or ethical reasons to handle this news responsibly: the lust for “news” (and the comercial benefits of it) outweighs any sense of responsibility.