Word: panic
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...Right now health officials around the world are trying to take precautions without inciting panic. Here are just a few of the questions facing them - and ultimately, us as well...
...know yet about the new swine flu. There hasn't been a flu pandemic for more than a generation, and there hasn't been a truly virulent pandemic since long before the arrival of mass air transit. We're in terra incognito here. Panic would be counterproductive - especially if it results in knee-jerk reactions like closing international borders, which would only complicate the public-health response. But neither should we downplay our very real vulnerabilities. As Napolitano put it: "This will be a marathon, not a sprint." Be prepared...
...course, the weekend that saw the swine flu panic grip Mexico and, quickly after that, much of the world. At the toll booths on the road back to the capital, health personnel were distributing pamphlets with instructions. They were also handing out surgical masks. Insurgentes, the main avenue from the south into the city, was deserted; restaurants were closed; and, though the malls and the supermarkets were open, there were few cars in the parking lots. Barriers were set up at the entrances to the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, the largest public university in Latin America; the museums were...
...Cordova said, announcing the first total school closures over the urban area of 20 million since the 1985 earthquake. Mexican authorities said there had been 20 deaths confirmed from the virus in recent weeks, mostly healthy adult men and women, who were in groups not normally considered vulnerable. Then panic increased to fever pitch on Friday when the World Health Organization upstaged the Mexican government by saying that 60 deaths may have been caused by the virus. (Check out a story on how long flu immunity lasts...
Despite some panic buying, there are no immediate signs of anyone fleeing Mexico City. Shop owner Humberto Garcia says that he is not worried about getting the virus himself. "I'm strong, I'll resist it," he says, flexing his arm muscles. Architect Maria Aguilera, 31, is also unmoved. "People are just freaking out a bit," she says. However, government worker Victor Mondragon, 45, says he may vacate the city in the next few days. "I want to see how bad this thing is," he says. "If thousands start dropping dead, then I am going to run for my life...