New swine flu warning

Tuesday 14th July 2009, 3:00PM BST.

Health Minister Anne Pryke

JERSEY’S Health Minister has issued the bleakest warning yet on the threat of swine flu – as the number of cases in the Island soared to 38.

In a statement to the States yesterday, Deputy Anne Pryke said that the increasing number of cases in the UK ‘did not bode well’ for Jersey and warned Islanders to prepare for a ‘significant level of infection’ in September and October.

She spoke out as health chiefs in the UK revealed that an apparently healthy GP and six-year-old girl died after contracting the disease. Seventeen people in Britain have now died from the H1N1 virus.

Deputy Pryke told Members: ‘It has now been confirmed that the UK is one of the countries with the highest levels of infection – so much so that the Chief Medical Officer of England announced last week that the policy of his government is not one of containment but treating people when they are sick.’

Deputy Pryke said that Jersey’s Health Department had stockpiled Tamiflu, bought masks and other breathing apparatus and developed plans to mobilise the Hospital to cope with a mass outbreak. Last week the Health Department launched a high-profile public health campaign to help prevent a mass summer outbreak of swine flu.

A flu helpline is available on 445566 between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm from Monday to Friday.

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1
Jersey30

July 14, 2009 at 3:22 pm

Better to be safe than sorry!

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2
Keith

July 14, 2009 at 3:42 pm

Storm in a tea cup this, it’s just another flu virus we get them every year, people die every year but most just feel unwell and get better.

Thank god it’s not man flu, I had that last Christmas and I was barely well enough to get hammered and insult the in laws.

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3
Jenny

July 14, 2009 at 4:19 pm

Whilst I do understand that we must not panic (in fact if I hear one more phrase about regular-flu-killing-x-amount-a-year I may give them cause to panic) I feel this situation has been handled very badly. Jersey is basically part of England when you consider how many people travel in and out every day. People became too complacent when they heard Gordon Brown boast of how the UK was the best prepared in the world (look at the state of them now!).
The only answer is to make people more aware. It is shocking how many people are ignorant of the news (I have spoken to over five people who were under the impression tamiflu was a vaccine) and don’t even read a paper. People who return from the UK should be made to stay at home for two days and something has to be done about the ignorant people who walk around coughing and sneezing without covering their mouths – revolting!!

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4
Mogit

July 14, 2009 at 6:59 pm

Talk about scaremongering, the number of swine-flu cases has soared to 38!!!
this equates to .041% of the population, hardly an epidemic, let nature take it’s course !!!

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5
Pigsy

July 14, 2009 at 7:27 pm

What is the point in the British obssesion of telling us everyday that we are going to die of this that or the other.

Let me see,maybe we should have a quiz type scenario,will we die of answer (a) Diabetes
answer,(b)a heart attack or answer (c)our head will suddenly combust into a stroke.

I for one am being bored to death with the medias constant misery making of what might happen if i breathe.

One day we will all expire & until that day it would be nice to enjoy everyday without it being made a misery by the doom mongers enlightening us with what might kill us.

I am indeed in danger of being “bored” to death.

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6
Darren

July 15, 2009 at 6:05 am

Ahh Pigsy you speak so much tluth.

I have posted about this before, why worry, you are more likely to end up a States Senator (oh the horror…) than die of swine flu.

If we could breed a variant that just incompacitates Jersey politicians, now that would be something.

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7
bella

July 15, 2009 at 2:23 pm

Stress is the biggest killer of them all,causing practically every type of illness.
In other words take life easy and take whatever they throw at you with a pinch of salt.
If its not one thing its another,nearly everything we do nowadays has a health risk according to the doommongers.How did we ever get away with it in the past?and we are still here.
Us coffin-dodgers should be 10 feet under long ago as we did everything that is now frowed upon.

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