Health experts tell people to avoid public places

As the type-A (H1N1) virus spreads and claims more victims, the chorus to halt all forms of public life seems to be growing more strident.

"The transmission rate of the new flu virus from humans to humans will be drastically decreased if people across the country, including patients with flu-like symptoms, stay home and do not participate in any social gathering for two weeks," said Dr Tippawan Nagchinta, a health expert from the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Tippawan, who is a consultant from the CDC to the Field Epidemiology Training Programme, urged the government to tell people to avoid crowded places in order to slow down the increase in the H1N1 virus' fatality and infection rates.She was speaking after a meeting with top-level health officers and experts from the country's leading medical schools in Bangkok at the Public Health Ministry. If the government shuts down public spaces where people meet and hang out, including schools, cinemas and theatres, morbidity would immediately decrease, she said.This lesson has already been borne out in the US, where infections among students were reduced rapidly after the CDC ordered some schools, where infected cases were found, to stop operating for two weeks, she said.If the government could not ban all public areas, it should pick those places with the most cases, she said.Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart also said he personally believes it was now time to call off all classes to control the spread of the 2009 flu."The suspension should last two to four weeks during which a major clean-up operation would be conducted," he said."After that, the schools can resume classes and arrange make-up sessions later."Sanan chairs the committee dealing with the disease. He also thought about promoting the use of facemasks. "The Public Health Ministry plans to allocate Bt10 million for purchasing face masks," he said."All Cabinet members will wear face masks at their meeting to lead by example."Sanan plans to seek Bt70 million from the Cabinet today for public campaigns on how to guard against the pandemic.Former public health minister Suchai Charoenratana-kul also advised the govern-ment to close all schools for one week. "All entertainment events should be withheld during the same period, too," he said.The new flu is a real threat because its death toll here is the highest in Asia and the sixth highest in the world. The government should also be cautious about the use of antiviral vaccine for the H1N1 flu, he said. "Any rush may bring unwanted deaths and paralysis," he said.

Source: The Nation