Oink No More
With the WHO raising the Pandemic Status to Phase 5 and the MOH following suit with issuing an Alert Status of Orange, this dreaded and dastardly outbreak seems hell bent on wreaking havoc in the world. And it's still early days yet.
Yet another long and tiring day at work today, where once again, news was no longer new by the time it made its rounds a la "Simon says" and you get to hear of it. It was demanding and a challenge to say the least for staff to keep abreast and updated of the latest developments and carry out actions accordingly.
Health Minister Khaw held a press conference today where he said that "this war will be long drawn, with several waves of attack. So we must be prepared for a long war, it will not be a quick battle. We must pace ourselves carefully. We must gear up speedily but we must also not go into unnecessary overdrive and tire ourselves out even before the first wave of attack here. That is why I have advised my hospital colleagues not to over-swing. They must gear up and be mentally prepared for immediate operation when called upon. But they should not put everyone on 24-hour battle mode; that will not be sustainable for a long operation. If I may use a battle analogy: we have put some troops on the ground to guard our key installations to detect enemy intruders. We have also set up patrols and sentries in the community to watch out for intruders. But many more troops are on standby to reinforce when necessary. We need them to be well-rested and be fit for action when called upon to do so."
So while governments the world over are tearing their hair out on dealing with the problem, it seems some are more concerned about semantics. Apparently, the Israeli authorities have raised ire and contention over the moniker, where the "swine" reference disregards Islamic and Jewish religious sensitivities.
Not sure how true this is, but apparently, the WHO has since decided to rename the virus the Mexican Flu or the 2009 H1N1 Flu.
Yet another long and tiring day at work today, where once again, news was no longer new by the time it made its rounds a la "Simon says" and you get to hear of it. It was demanding and a challenge to say the least for staff to keep abreast and updated of the latest developments and carry out actions accordingly.
Health Minister Khaw held a press conference today where he said that "this war will be long drawn, with several waves of attack. So we must be prepared for a long war, it will not be a quick battle. We must pace ourselves carefully. We must gear up speedily but we must also not go into unnecessary overdrive and tire ourselves out even before the first wave of attack here. That is why I have advised my hospital colleagues not to over-swing. They must gear up and be mentally prepared for immediate operation when called upon. But they should not put everyone on 24-hour battle mode; that will not be sustainable for a long operation. If I may use a battle analogy: we have put some troops on the ground to guard our key installations to detect enemy intruders. We have also set up patrols and sentries in the community to watch out for intruders. But many more troops are on standby to reinforce when necessary. We need them to be well-rested and be fit for action when called upon to do so."
So while governments the world over are tearing their hair out on dealing with the problem, it seems some are more concerned about semantics. Apparently, the Israeli authorities have raised ire and contention over the moniker, where the "swine" reference disregards Islamic and Jewish religious sensitivities.
Not sure how true this is, but apparently, the WHO has since decided to rename the virus the Mexican Flu or the 2009 H1N1 Flu.