The White House reports that "in his Weekly Address, the President discusses the government’s response to the 2009 H1N1 flu virus, from school closings to activating online social networks. He urges Americans to be calm but cautious.
"President Obama: This is also why the Centers for Disease Control has recommended that schools and child care facilities with confirmed cases of the virus close for up to fourteen days. It is why we urge employers to allow infected employees to take as many sick days as necessary. If more schools are forced to close, we’ve also recommended that both parents and businesses think about contingency plans if children do have to stay home. We have asked every American to take the same steps you would take to prevent any other flu: keep your hands washed; cover your mouth when you cough; stay home from work if you’re sick; and keep your children home from school if they’re sick. And the White House has launched pages in Facebook, MySpace and Twitter to support the ongoing efforts by the CDC to update the public as quickly and effectively as possible," according to the White House.
"As President Obama taped his Saturday radio address focusing on the swine flu pandemic, a Washington-bound flight was rerouted to Boston when a woman complained of flu like symptoms – though it might be too late to keep the disease out of the Washington area.
"In the address, Mr. Obama repeats his advice to wash your hands and keep the kids out of school if they’re sick. He patiently explains that “because we haven’t developed an immunity to it, it has more potential to cause us harm.” But that’s not to say there has been no preparation to deal with an animal outbreak. Indeed, he gives an unusual bit of credit to his predecessor.
"Finally, thanks to the work that the last administration and Congress did to prepare for a possible avian flu pandemic in 2005, states and the federal government have fully operable influenza readiness plans and are better prepared to deal with such a challenge than ever before.
”Then again, there might be a little pat on the back slipped in that line, too. The Times’s Ginger Thompson and Jeff Zeleny report that as a freshman senator in 2005, “Mr. Obama took the lead on a bill devoting $25 million to help prevent an avian flu outbreak. It was one of his first pieces of legislation — and, arguably, his most substantial — in his brief time on Capitol Hill.
”He has also instructed every government agency–from Education to State–to play a role in preparing the United States for a pandemic.
"In keeping with the presidential campaign, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter will be part of the strategy, he said. Speaking of Tweets, the White House made its first today at 11 a.m. Good thing Mr. Obama held on to that BlackBerry. (Though perhaps he should be more careful about Flickr.)"
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