Obama: Swine Flu Infected Schools May Have To Close

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged parents to prepare for the possibility that their children's schools could be closed temporarily if swine flu cases spread to them.

Speaking at the White House, Obama said he wants Americans to know the government is doing "whatever is necessary" to contain the emerging health threat, which was blamed for a U.S. death for the first time Wednesday.

Obama said his thoughts and prayers were with the family of the 23-month-old child in Texas who became the nation's first reported swine flu death. The president's remarks came at an event welcoming Sen. Arlen Specter to the Democratic Party, and hours before Obama's televised news conference set for Wednesday night.

"This is obviously a serious situation," Obama said, that "we are closely and continuously monitoring." He urged local authorities to be vigilant in reporting any suspected flu cases.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama, who has been receiving swine flu briefings several times a day, was updated late Tuesday night. The president decided he needed to underscore that the situation was growing more serious, leading to his remarks at the Wednesday morning event, Gibbs said.

Emphasizing a recommendation made earlier this week by federal health officials, Obama said authorities at schools with confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu "should strongly consider temporarily closing so that we can be as safe as possible."

He advised parents to be ready for such disruptions.

"If the situation becomes more serious and we have to take more extensive steps, then parents should also think about contingencies if schools in their areas do temporarily shut down, figuring out and planning what their child care situation would be," Obama advised.

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Just moving children from schools to day care centers in infected areas "is not a good solution," he said.

Obama said the federal government is "prepared to do whatever is necessary to control the impact of this virus." He noted his request for $1.5 billion in emergency funding to ensure adequate supplies of vaccines.

And he advised individuals to take their own precautions _ washing hands, staying home if they are sick, and keeping sick kids home.

The Centers for Disease Control has recommended that schools strongly consider dismissing students when there is a confirmed or suspected case.

On Tuesday, health officials closed a school in Sacramento, Calif., and a school in New York City.

Said Gibbs, "The test results coming back on the infant are a very, very painful reminder of what we have to do to remain safe."

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On the Net:

http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/mitigation.htm

Comments

[juilth]

I have been checking on this swine flu tracking website http://www.swine-flu-tracker.com/ on and off for the last couple of days now and its kinda scary seeing how it this strain of flu is spreading.

[pogo]

Clearly, the Illuminati is behind this.

[apolloguide]

Our ESL public school in Richmond California became infected with this stuff late October 2008, well before it became popular this week, with symptoms arriving around Thanksgiving 2008. The second wave of exposures that were tracked took 21 days to fully develop with beginning symptoms after 10 days. It is a mistake to think a yearly Tamiflu will protect you. Tamiflu inoculations do not work to eradicate but might slow down it's onset for as much as 3 weeks as it did with me. The constant traffic of students and parents back and forth to Mexico brings new waves after each school holiday.

[Erdgeist]

The problem is the lack of vitamin D3 in our system because we just came off of winter where sunlight is insufficient and because of tropical rains (consider too that we spend 93% of our time indoors/cars).

Without a sufficient amount of D3 which is stimulated by direct exposure to sunlight or by vitamin supplementation or by eating oily fish such as sardines, anyone can get lower respiratory diseases such as colds, the flu, pneumonia and TB. Doctors, of course, are not taught this in med school nor does anyone at CDC know this although it has been well documented since 1945. Chalk it up to certain cognitive biases that have to do with ego.

[apolloguide]

So you are suggesting that this is a nutritional problem? After all there is a lot of sunlight in Mexico all year long so lack of exposure to photons is not convincing me.

[goodog]

The Rapture-ready birth-certificate nuts say the government should butt out, because an unregulated, decentralized, and profit-driven free-market is best suited to handle an emergency pandemic protocol based on those who can afford treatment.

The trigger-happy Tribulation fanatics believe government intervention at this important point in a developing pandemic will only make matters worse, because those who can't afford treatment might get treatment, and God doesn't want that.

Teabaggerist Armageddon-mongers DEMAND non-governmental intervention because airline executives are the BEST prepared professionals to deal with viral contagion spreading through the air conditioning systems of America's near-bankrupt airlines running on skeleton maintenance crews that have banned overtime and reduced private health benefits.

The self-regulating efficiencies and self-interest of multi-conglomerate executives can do the work of the Lord and ensure no one who's undeserving of treatment gets any of it.

[TrnsNtnl]

I wish they would decide this sooner rather then later. There is one suspected case on my college campus in Southern California but no conclusive results will be in for two days. In the mean time we are meant to attend classe unless we feel ill.

Tell that to the coughing kids sitting behind me in class please... No one is really regulating this.

[october2009]

Because it's not really a threat. It's all hype to cause a frenzy. This frenzy will line the pockets of the vaccine manufacturers and increase the power of our government.

Government always use a crisis to increase their power and control. It's what they do.

Just like Rahm Emanuel said: "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste"

Here's a video of him actually saying this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yeA_kHHLow

[QuidQuintessa]

Well let's hope they put this crisis to good use and shove through medical reform!

[goodog]

"No one is really regulating this"

Because regulation is bad for business.

The Democrats are a bunch of anti-regulation, free-market zealots who would rather see you catch swine flu than miss an opportunity to make a buck off it.

The corporate, megalo-conglomerate party of the executive-elite don't believe the sick and weak even put in a decent days work. Neither do they deserve treatment they can't pay for anyway, so wear your surgical face mask to class, study hard, and earn that degree, because only the fittest deserve that diploma and the privilege of diminishing private healthcare coverage the modern American work ethic returns to the producer these days.

[stuporman]

this is one reason why we should include distance learning into the curriculum. the kids could still be taught while at home.

[october2009]

I might not know the truth, but I know I'm being lied to.

I wouldn't be surprised that we'll have a full-on pandemic this coming flu season which will coincide with hyper-inflation and dollar collapse that the Federal Reserve caused.

Look on the bright side, our politicians and central bankers will blame the dollar crash on the pandemic and not on their failed policies of central economic planning and inflation. They'll also be able to stem a revolt by imposing martial law and mass quarantines. People will be afraid to huddle into large groups.

A pandemic is the only thing that could quell a large-scale revolt. It's actually very smart for those individuals that want to maintain power and control over our lives. You would swear they took the entire playbook from the fictional movie: "V for Vendetta".­.. I guess if you can dream it, you can do it...

[october2009]

Not the mention the millions of unemployed people... They too would also start protesting or revolting.­..

[Elabacki]

Will they have to make up "Flu Days" like "Snow Days" at the end of the year??

[hortonhearsawho2]

gosh, at this rate, levi and bristol will never graduate..­.

[samuelberg]

Closing schools? Well, when you take into account some of the LAUSD schools have over a 50% dropout rate (despite spending more money per pupil than all other countries) I don't see how this could hurt the kids any further.

[misterturner]

The measured response of not closing the borders or increasing inspections (which is what the President did) is inconsistent with his newly alarmist stance now that schools are affected here. To take such a blase approach at the border and then express such concern now is poorly thought through at best. Since the Prez thinks things through, I'd characterize it as disingenuous instead. The inconsistency could be motivated by desire to consolidate a political base, or by his (expressed this AM) worldview that we need to tackle the health problems where they originate rather than wall ourselves off from them, but I can't imagine they are the result of incompetence. The President is not incompetent.

[Thurber]

This is insanity. It's just another type of flu people. 10's of thousands of people die every year from the flu. If you get sick with high fevers, shaking chills, sore throat, body pains, and cough, have your doc call in a prescription for Tamiflu or Relenza and start taking them preferably within 48 hours of the above symptoms. They both work.

Then stay home, rest, take your meds, drink plenty of fluids, and get better. No need to get all crazy about it. If your getting worse, start having trouble breathing, put on a mask (so you don't get other people sick) and go to the ER. That's all you need to know.

ITS THE FLU!

Happens every year, twice this year, no cause for pandemic panic. The only people in most danger from this are hyperventilating "journalists" in danger of working themselves to death reporting with reckless abandon on every cough in America.

[hjfraser2002]

The worst kind of flu can kill a heck of alot more than the average. Strains like these are going to be the ones that due it. ignoring it will get is nowhere.

[Thurber]

I never recommended ignoring, I recommended treating it ... IF YOU HAVE SEVERE SYMPTOMS. Going to the ER because you may have a headache or cough, without the high fever, myalgies, sore throat, and even nausea and vomitting, just increases your chance of catching something nasty in the ER's waiting room. If you're having trouble breathing or any other Medical Emergency go to the ER, otherwise stay away.

Bottom line, this is a Flu. Just because the media is getting hysterical, doesn't mean you should, in fact it could be dangerous to your health to do so.

[AngieMom57]

The flu came late this year, we all see that.

You make good common sense which is rare these days.

The media is, at best, attempting to error in the side of caution, which is also good common sense.

Got to go wash my hands and take a placebo.

[NewmanKitten]

Actually, this isn't just the "same ol' flu". What kills people isn't the flu symptoms themselves, but the H1N1 flu causes a "Cytokine Storm", that can kill, usually the healthiest of people, within hours, as this same virus did in 1918. People with healthy immune systems are the biggest victims, as there is something in this virus that was identified a year or so ago in Seattle, that trips the immune system to attack the body. The victim dies by drowning in fluids, including blood.

Sorry to be so negative, but this is actually a real threat. It's not the same ol' flu. I thought it was too, at first, until I started researching it.

Take precautions people - they will help.

[oregondaisy]

Actually, it wasn't the flu that killed most of those people in 1918. According to the National Institute of Health, it was bacterial pneumonia. True it was the flu that weakened their immune systems making them vulnerable, but had they had antibiotics most would have survived.

http://www.nih.gov/news/health/aug2008/niaid-19.htm

[Thurber]

Every flu causes a Ctyokine Storm. This one may be worse than others or not as bad as others. The fact that there has been no US deaths (except one imported from Mexico) and that 1000's of cases most likely go unreported or unrecognized for every one that does, says to me, an MD, that this is not particularly virulant.

[apolloguide]

Don't let your distrust of messengers prevent you from changing your very conventional and flawed professional viewpoint of this illness.

Tamiflu does not work on this. I repeat, it does not work!!! The only thing you can take to prevent yourself literally in drowning in snot is Mucinex. I got it and then my Cat got it from me. That's right, it jumped species!

My cat was successfully treated with amoxicillin trihydrate­/clavulnat­e potassium "Clavamox". The violent coughs and 102-3 F fever came after two weeks of exposure. Really bad for about 21-30 days. The mucous producing immune response remains for months.

[Thurber]

actually tamiflu is effective against this flu, just ask the CDC

[chopenhopper]

Does anyone really think that this is a "naturally­-occuring" disease. The CDC says this has gene sequences never seen before. Genes don't just pop-up out o nowhere. The head of the CDC has even said that this is not naturally occurring. Instead of being worried about the cost--worry about the origin--and the effects if a national compulsory vaccination is implimented.

[Thurber]

Uhm, yeah genes do just "pop-up out o nowhere." It's called evolution and/or mutation everywhere but the bible belt.

[hjfraser2002]

WOOO WOOOO ALERT.

[Binea]

We know schools are the biggest spreaders of illness.If this flu starts to spread more or morphs into something as deadly as in Mexico or worse,Obama should consider a program for homeschool via computer,S­atellite,e­ven cable (if they could figure out a way to do each grade on cable).Tea­chers could
set up a video confernce type of schoolday for their classes. You could keep track of kids with log- in records and regular testing.I know that Paltalk has rooms where you can have voice chat with all in the room ( perfect set up for school).

[Binea]

BTW ..I meant for all schools not just those with kids who have it.It would do alot to help prevent the spread. They could do this only during the flu seasons,until this thing dies out. We have emergency set ups for everything else..why not this idea for school ?

[chopenhopper]

You must live in an area where everyone has email, and all the tech amenities. Mrural areas don't have cable--and are only working with dial-up. Conferecing and the like cannot be accomplished on dial-up--not fast enough.

[marxmarv]

Then what did we give the telcos $500 billion in tax breaks for in 1996?

[Binea]

Big cities and burbs are more of a concern I'd think..so,­wherever it can be done it should be.For kids not having laptops ..maybe they can be loaned out..I don't know..it's just an Idea that smarter people can run with and maybe make happen :)

[fem56]

The toddler came up from Mexico for treatment according to report on NPR. In a normal flu season 36,000 people die in the US. These are people with pre-existing conditions and perhaps some people who don't take care of themselves when they end up with secondary conditions. This one is going to go around most likely but anti-virals work on it so no need to panic.