New York – New Yorkers were able to breathe a breath of fresh air Friday when Mayor Michael Bloomberg said there were no new confirmed cases of the swine flu, or what officials calling the H1N1 virus. Yet plenty of people are still afraid the virus is spreading, causing a paranoia that’s clogging up the system at local hospitals.
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During an afternoon news conference, Bloomberg and City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said those who had come down with the swine flu in New York City were on the mend and probable cases appear to have only minor flu symptoms.
“What we’re reassured by is we haven’t seen severe illness. That is what we had been very concerned about. It doesn’t mean we won’t, but it’s reassuring a week in that we haven’t seen a single case of severe illness with flu,” said Frieden. “But we do expect to see it continue spreading in the community.”
That expectation has blossomed into widespread concern. Parents have been flooding local emergency rooms with their children, paranoid that they may have contracted the swine flu.
“Obviously, please, don’t go to the hospital unless you are seriously ill. All that’s likely is that you’re going to clog the system and you may very well infect other people,” said Bloomberg.
Dr. Andrew Racine of the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore says the hospital is seeing 30 percent more patients since the swine flu outbreak. He says many of the children have fevers, allergy symptoms, or minor ailments that don’t require hospital visits. The result is long waits which is problematic for patients who really need medical attention.
“There are some people who are bringing in their children who might not be ill, but are sitting next to someone who might be ill, but are sitting next to someone who might be. And then three days from now or four days from now that child actually will be ill,” said Racine. “It’s not just parents who are reacting, it’s institutions like schools and daycare centers and workplaces all of whom think, ‘Oh my goodness, we have to have children before they come back to school,’ which is not the case.”
No Need To Panic, If Your Number Is Called You Will Find Out Dont Worry Be Happy Live One Day At A Time And Live Every Day As If Its Your Last, Life’s Good****
The media, the WHO, and the CDC are to be blamed for all this hysteria. Why haven’t we heard about the 35,000 Americans who died in this year’s flu season, but we hear about the 150 people who merely were verified to have this new flu? Some pandemic… Schools are being closed because one child feels sick. People are panicked and wasting money on Tamilflu and germ masks, which may not even work!