The Vancouver Sun reports on the issue of swine flu and the upcoming Olympics.
No “Draconian” swine flu measures for Vancouver Olympics
Two Olympics, two different view on handling the swine flu pandemic if it hits during the Games.
In Britain, the government is putting in place contingency plans as the flu pandemic escalates, including possibly banning crowds from sporting events, according to the Telegraph. Those kinds of measures could be put in place for the London 2012 Summer Games.
But there’s a decidedly different view in British Columbia, where health officials say such “Draconian” measures not only aren’t warranted, but likely useless as well.
Dr. Patrcia Daly, the common-sense chief medical health officer for the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, told me Monday she has no plans to close or cancel 2010 Winter Olympic events in the event the H1N1 virus comes calling hard this winter.
There is no evidence tactics such as closing schools, canceling events or limiting public assemblies.
“I can tell you right now there is not a lot of evidence they are of any benefit,” Daly said. “We have no plans to do any of those things for H1N1. We will not be canceling any of the Olympic events as a result of the pandemic.”
