Swine Flu Epidemic Grows – CDC Prepares People for Fatalities
During the press briefing regarding the Swine Flu epidemic Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) spokesperson Von Roebuck said Tuesday that while there have been no recorded fatalities in the U.S. as of yet they expect that there will be at some point. Also noted was the fact that thousands of people die each year from seasonal flu outbreaks so that is to be expected whenever influenza outbreaks happen.
As of Tuesday the Mexican government had confirmed 152 fatalities related to the epidemic in Mexico. In the U.S. cases have been reported in California, Kansas, Ohio, New York and Texas so far according to the CDC Swine Flu Tracking website which is updated daily. The total number of confirmed cases as of the time this article was written stands at 64 in the U.S. with five hospitalizations and no fatalities.
In response to the growing international epidemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a Phase 4 pandemic alert which indicates sustained human to human transmission posing risks of community outbreaks in populations where the virus becomes introduced. The highest level alert would be Phase 6 indicating widespread human infection posing significant risk to population centers exposed to the virus.
The Mexican government has told businesses such as restaurants to not allow patrons to congregate and that all food orders should be take out only. American cruise ships headed to the region have also made decisions not to dock at Mexican ports for the present time to minimize the risks to their passengers. While some have advocating closing the border with Mexico, most experts agree that it is too late to contain the disease within the borders of Mexico. With cases reported as far away as New Zealand, there is little hope of stopping the spread of the disease.
People showing signs of infection are being asked to not go to work or school to avoid the further transmission of the disease. Many American employers are allowing people to work from home or take paid time off if they or someone else in their household is sick in an effort to minimize the spread of the disease in the workplace. U.S. schools impacted by the virus have been closed and on Tuesday Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency related to the current flu epidemic.
Basic precautions are being recommended to minimize the risk of infection. Frequent hand washing or sanitizing and sneezing or coughing into elbows as opposed to hands will lessen the site transmission of the disease through door handles and buttons and personal transfers via hand shakes. At this time there are no reliable predictions of how far the flu might spread or what the domestic fatality rate may be in the end. For now the CDC and Department of Health are recommending people take precautions and limit their exposure to potentially infected people. There is no reason for people to panic but prudence is recommended given the number of fatalities reported thus far in Mexico related to the current epidemic.
Troy Wilson-Ripsom - Staff Writer | E-mail Comments on this article. | Click icon to Digg this article
President Obama: 100 Days in Office
The 100 day milestone is hailed as the first real milestone in a presidency among pundits and political analysts. For whatever reason, three months and a week or so is about how long they need to evaluate the presidency of a new President. This holds true for governors and other elected officials as well. It’s not the mid point in their term or a point at which there is some momentous change about to occur, it’s just the date that people have picked to examine the actions of a new leader.
The tradition started with Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In his first one hundred days he was faced with and tackled immense issues related to the Great Depression and other domestic issues related to the economic crisis. While that was a large part of his legacy, many of the most significant milestones of his presidency could not have possibly been foreseen by examining the first hundred days of his first term in office.
If one were to look at the first hundred days of Jimmy Carter it would seem like he would go on to be a two-term President that history would have seen as one of the greatest of all time. What happened after that first hundred days was much more what defined his presidency. While FDR did largely follow the path his first hundred days laid out, other presidents have not.
Looking at the first hundred days of the Obama administration it is clear that President Obama hit the ground running and has not looked back thus far. That is not to say that there have not been mistakes or that there will not be mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. What will define this presidency are the end results of the things that are done now and over the next four to eight years. It is fine to mark milestones but we must be mindful to look at the totality of the administration when judging what history should say about our leaders.
When Richard Nixon left office in disgrace many thought that history would not find any redeeming qualities in his presidency. Now when you look back on his time in office you have to acknowledge that President Nixon did accomplish some significant things while in office. When Nixon went to China it opened the door for future relations and without that opening we would not have developed the trade relationship we have with China that has benefited so many Americans over the years. While it may not be perfect it is a relationship made possible by a man who is held by many to be the most hated president in U.S. history. His first hundred days were relatively uneventful but what followed would make history.
As we look at the beginning of the Obama era in Washington it’s important to remember that while it seems like it is a defining moment now, in 2012 or 2016 it may seem completely insignificant when held in comparison to the totality of the Obama presidency. This is the proverbial cover by which the wise man does not judge the quality of the entire book. Once we have read the entire book that is the Obama presidency perhaps we will be better equipped to judge the success or failure of this administration.
Troy Wilson-Ripsom - Staff Writer | E-mail Comments on this article. | Click icon to Digg this article
 Get Involved Do you sit and yell at the TV when politicians come on? Do you shake your head sadly whenever you see a homeless veteran? Is that all you tend to do? It's time to put up or shut up America. We all love to talk about how we could do things better or how we would do it if we were in charge. Well, it's time to put your money where your mouth is. If you can think of it, you can write it down. If you can write it down, you can type it. If you can type it, you can e-mail it and if you can e-mail it, you can send it here. We at Reform America are committed to giving voice to anyone who wants to put their ideas out there to make our nation a better place. As the readership grows, we are able to take those views to a wider and wider audience. Grassroots campaigns begin with voices speaking out. You have opinions. Voice them. We aren't about conservative or liberal. We aren't about pro-this or anti-that. We're about Americans and the First Amendment. Reform America is about politics by, for and of the people. You are the people. You only need to speak up. America is listening. Send your article to: stories@reform-america.net |
|
|
|
|
