Swine flu has drifted, for the most part, off newspaper front pages and out of the evening news here in the U.S. but it is still going strong elsewhere. In Japan, Sumo wrestlers are suffering, in India, swine flu is back on TV with more deaths, in Argentina flu deaths have more than doubled.
With the flu season approaching and with children headed back to school en masse, the story is sure to make a comeback in a few weeks. News anchors will be surprised and newspapers will cover the return of the flu as breaking news, even though it never went away.
I have not seen any reports of the travel industry ramping up for the return of the flu. Effects last flu season were dramatic. There were heartfelt hearings in Washington. Flight attendants were asking to wear masks and gloves; the same for TSA workers. Pregnant workers wanted time off from work requiring lots of public contact. Airline load factors dropped dramatically whenever word spread about a flu outbreak. The entire country of Mexico declared a tourism disaster.
I don’t see lots of action within the travel industry concerning the coming flu season. I’m sure, in many cases, the same concerns will be raised once again, as if nothing happened last year. However, some groups are making changes and getting ready for a severe international flu outbreak.
At the Department of Homeland Security, concerns are running high and the department is not seeing what they consider appropriate responses and planning.
Business people dealing with a “really tough economy may not have taken time to think through what a heavy flu season means,” Ms. Napolitano said. “We are urging them to be proactive,” especially businesses that “control the critical infrastructure, to be sure those operations continue.”
The rest of the U.S. government is taking H1N1 (swine flu) very seriously. The Commerce Department is urging businesses make plans now for the coming flu season.
Employers should stay in touch with their local health departments and “develop sick leave policies that are flexible” rather than punitive since such policies often require written proof of illness, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said.
“They should consider dropping this since it could overload the work system,” he said of the written-excuse policy.
Today the Wall Street Journal chimed in with an flu story as children are headed back to school.
Unfortunately, with the recent drought of H1N1/Swine flu news stories, the American public is not aware of the possible coming problems.
A Washington Post/ABC News poll released Wednesday showed that about one-eighth of respondents are very worried about swine flu affecting their families and more than twice that number are “not at all concerned.”
Let’s hope that the travel industry learned some lessons from the last outbreak of Swine flu here in the U.S. when everyday headlines were focused on the sickness. Soon they may be faced with a similar situation.
Flu vaccines are being prepared are expected to be ready in a couple of months, mid-October. However, until then wash your hands often with soap and water, and use hand sanitizer when possible. Don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth. The virus spreads when infected people cough or sneeze, and people start spreading the virus a day before symptoms appear. You can also pick it up by touching something that has flu virus on it, then touching your mouth or nose.
Bottom line: Those business that plan ahead will be able to better deal with the problems associated with H1N1. Let’s hope the travel industry plans are robust and workable. Otherwise, combined with the economic problems and rising oil prices, it will be a difficult winter.
(Photo by Dan O’Leary/Flickr Creative Commons)
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
