Honestly - please try not to worry...

[seeker]

it's flu, not the Black Death!

What will thousands of parents taking time off at once to care for sick children do to an already failing economy? And then taking time off because they're ill themselves?

I did say they have to take into account the cost of parents taking time off work and that it would be a hard call. It is going to be a hard decision to make, but there could easily be situations in which closing schools is the lesser of two evils.

Agree (what squeakywheel said).

oh yes - if the parents are care workers/health workers etc that's going to really help if they can't go into work becaues their children are at home in case they get swine flu.

if schools are closed, are children going to have be kept indoors? as surely the whole point will be defeated if they all go to soft play etc!!

I would think softplay would be similar to school, but playgrounds, parks, etc obviously fine.

Not sure how they think 'essential workers' (is that the term they use??} would manage without schools, what did they do in Philadelphia? I think that was one of the cities quoted (ages ago) as having minimized death toll from flu by closing schools for a few weeks?

yes but wasn't that 30 or more years ago? When less parents worked and people still had extended family to rely on for childcare?

People no longer have that option. More children are in childcare settings now than ever before. If schools close, then realistically nurseries have to close as well, and that means there will be no childcare available, so consequently parents will have to potentially take unpaid leave (you can't expect companies to pay peopl for being off indefinitely) to look after their children.

Closing schools is a kneejerk reaction that is simply unworkable because it has such far-reaching repercussions.

Parents might be off for a couple of weeks max to look after a sick child, but if the schools are closed that same parent could be off indefinitely, depending on how long sthe school is closed for.

I don't know what they did in Philadelphia (however many years ago that was??)

but they're certainly not doing it this time round

Closing schools has not been proven to stop the spread of the flu, especially when children can hang out together outside of school

and "Closing schools might create problems like parents needing to find other child care and feeding children who get reduced-priced lunches and breakfasts. "

Yes, but constant references to 'underlying health conditions' in the context of swine flu has been disingenuous.

Most asthmatics/people in wheelchairs/people with MS do NOT die when they contract common viruses (including seasonal flu). Yes, some of those who have died were undoubtedly particularly unwell with very severe and complex conditions and THESE people might have died when exposed to any virus. That's much less likely for people with ongoing but manageable long-term conditions like diabetes or asthma, which are now being lumped in with very serious, complex conditions.

My point about the poor lady who died post-birth was that she had been in this situation (giving birth) before, and that being in a wheelchair due to a motor accident does not constitute a 'serious underlying health condition'. It does mean her lungs were working less effectively, yes.. but that isn't particularly likely to kill someone usually.

What I dislike about the 'underlying health condition' tag is that it encourages Mr. Joe Public to ignore simple, sensible advice such as 'catch it, bin it, kill it' because hey, he's okay, he's only going to need a day or two off work - sod these defectives, it's evolution's way of spring cleaning! Clear out the runts..

People who DO have serious underlying health conditions can catch, bin, kill all they like but all that does is prevent OTHER people from being infected by the germs of the more vulnerable. If I, as someone with an underlying health condition, am very scrupulous about hand hygiene and get into an lift with Mr. Joe Public who is still blithely sneezing into mid-air, I will almost inevitably contract Mr. Joe Public's swine flu and potentially suffer greatly while he gets to boast about how it 'twaren't nuffin' in the pub next week.

The National Flu Line should make it so that seriously ill individuals can again contact their GP.. but I would rather see lots of people worry to the point that they will take heed (even if they will, ultimately, be well) than suffer through either a) the snotters and sneezers who think it's a load of old guff and don't have the common decency to use a tissue or look the other way or b) the burning martyrs who will struggle into work regardless to demonstrate their stiff upper lip, regardless of what havoc they may wreak with their germs.

surely a virus that affects the airways is going to negatively impact on someone who has reduced lung capacity?

No, I suppose its not that helpful to equate Philadelphia then with London now...except in what it tells us about the useful bit of closing schools (imagine that still holds true, viruses not being that different now).

Childcare is a huge problem. I'm very curious to know what the government has in mind if schools do close?

FAQinglovely,

Some evidence from recent animal studies would suggest that typical seasonal flu binds to the nose more than the lungs; swine flu binds/replicates more effectively deep within the lungs (like the 1918 pandemic).

Either way, swine flu kills these people, not their reduced lung capacity. It's a combination factor, for sure, but if they hadn't caught sf they wouldn't have died. Perhaps they wouldn't have died if they didn't have underlying health conditions, true, but let's face it, the use of 'serious underlying health conditions' has, from the start, been designed to reassure the 'worried well' who can tell themselves these people were on the way out anyway - were effectively standing on the cliff and this just pushed them over the edge of the precipice. That's really not true for people with diabetes or moderate asthma, who very rarely die of their diseases. So it's essentially spin.

That's not to say that this virus is particularly or shockingly pathogenic or virulent (it doesn't seem to be) but a) it's not the same as seasonal flu; b) there's no guarantee it's going to be mild (50% of deaths, internationally, in people with no underlying health conditions) and c) it could well mutate into something more serious. Surely that is worth people taking seriously enough to wash their hands and sneeze into a tissue, avoid work if they're unwell etc? I'm not asking for widespread panic but the jaded, misinformed 'oh well, I'll be fine' mentality of people without underlying health conditions is as uncalled for as their panic.

RE school closures, some companies are making provisions for people being off for one reason or another.

For example, where I work, we are able to connect from home to the work network, and work from home (with laptops and a few more bits of tech). So, key staff are being picked from various teams to enable us to work from home should we a) choose to close the building in the future or b) those with children are unable to get to the office because we looking after children either because they are poorly or schools/nurseries are closed.

I know it seems a little out there, the idea that they may choose to close the building etc, but I guess they have ot make these provision to ensure things keep ticking over.