You knew this was going to happen...
By Martha Entwistle
Updated Thu April 30, 2009
After yesterday's rant about the swine flu, of course it would be reported last night that we now have swine flu here in Maine.
Baldacci and Dr. Dora Anne Mills of the Maine Center for Disease Control said all three victims are adults who are recovering at home, two from Kennebec County in central Maine and one from York County in the southernmost part of the state. Details were limited. One of those stricken had a "travel history," Mills said.Yikes! I have a "travel history!" I travel all the time! I better never leave my home. How did the other two get it? Did aliens come down and drop swine flu in their mouths while they slept? Can swine flu now jump across state lines in a single bound? Two kids apparently have it down south (we mostly consider Kennebunk Massachusetts, anyway - it's not really Maine), too, and thus they've closed a couple of schools for seven days. (This is breaking news. They interrupted Lost last night to tell me about it.)
According to the guidelines, the schools and day care will be closed for seven calendar days. Parents are advised to keep their children home. State officials say if the children exhibit symptoms such as fever and respiratory symptoms, parents should bring their children to a medical professional to be examined. If their children exhibit none of those symptoms and feel well, parents should monitor their children for signs, but do not need to take action.Also, we got an email from our school superintendent telling us about washing hands and not coughing in each other's mouths. Of course, this winter, when 40 percent of my daughter's school was out sick with the flu, we heard a deafening silence from the administration and everything was business as usual. So, people sent their kids to school sick like they always do because, you know, they had to work and stuff. Thus, my kids got poisoned any number of times and missed all kinds of days of school. But swine flu? Lock the doors, people. Lock the doors. What am I missing here? I guess cautious is better than sorry, but there's a panic situation brewing here in Maine and I'm just not sure it's justified. People are calling in to radio stations and asking if they can get swine flu from eating pork. What's the balance between safe and ridiculous?
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