Is Fort Worth in Panic Mode?

[Debbi]

First they close 144 schools - 80K+ students out until May 11 and now Mayfest has been cancelled. I know this is a new flu strain but the flu has been around forever and sadly, people die from it every year. Am I missing something?

[kimberley]

well I am missing it to DEb..

[sldi]

We are all going to die from the hysteria and not the flu, this has to be the biggest crock I have ever heard. I slightly remember the 76 outbreak and it was no where near this bad (hysteria i mean).

[gardener]

I think in some sense, they're going to lose either way from a management standpoint. If they don't close the schools and kids are getting sick then they'll get flak from parents and their lawyers. If they do close the schools then you'll have an even higher number of parents who are ticked off that they have to make other arrangements for the day care of their kids and they'll be screaming about that... Unfortunately, there are also those that habitually send their kids to school and everywhere else sick and snot nosed simply because they say they can't or won't take off from work to take care of them because they see no real threat.
This type of for/against argument has been going on since time began with the ultra cautious vs the ultra I'd kiss a pig any old day camps. There is no "correct" answer...

[Jenny Z]

Yeah, it's a bit of a lose-lose for them, with all the hysteria.

[Jake]

I'm sure the fact that it's in the middle of sweeps has nothing to do with the media coverage......

Or there is something they are not telling us......

[Whumbahcumba]

Just force any kids showing symptoms of being sick to stay home. That would be easier. I would like to think that parent's would care enough about this to just make their kids stay home when they are sick, but I know that doesn't happen in most cases.

[crazeazn]

maybe this is all a ploy coz they dont want to take the TAKS test?

[kimberley]

I dont get it, if you close school where are all the kids going to go..DAYCARE....duh....where they are even in closer contact..and then all the older kids are going to get together at the malls and movie theatres......closing school isnt going to help..but im sure Houston and Cyfair arent close behind in closing Im sure we will all be out next week..

[Debbi]

I don't think daycare is where the kids will be going. I'm not sure about FTW, but in Springtown and the schools close, so do the daycares. It's also all over the news to NOT take kids who would have been in school to daycare. Now, the mall and movies for the older kids, I totally agree.

Apparently the Tarrant County Health Department forced the closure of Mayfest just hours before it was supposed to open. Imagine being a vendor at that.

[texkam]

Let's just shut down the whole country. What's really scary is that Al-Qaeda is probably paying close attention to all this.

[joedanger11]

it's better to be safe than sorry... look what happened during Katrina. People were so used to weathering a hurricane, but never would have thought it could have been so bad.

[andyz]

I believe the intent is to facilitate isolation of anyone suspected of carrying the virus, allowing it to die off rather than be transmitted.

The downside is parents staying home with the kids, potential loss of income for parents, teachers, daycare, etc.

I also assume that if this comes and goes and there are more people saying it was much ado about nothing, than like Y2K, the efforts will have been successful.

My own opinion is that some areas may be jumping the gun. Providing wipes and hand sanitizer would be a better initial action with breaks allowing hand washing where possible, and ensuring that those with flu symptoms are the ones isolated. But if you can't get that horse before he is out of the barn, what is being done is a better path than all the possible sickness.

[Roy]

It sure turned my schedule around. I had several events that will all have to be rescheduled. Minor hiccup compared to the overall scheme. I'm sure everyone is concerned especially if there's any chance of being sued. No one is willing to take a chance with that.

[janikphoto]

Media loves a crazy, scary story, and this was it! Swine flu is something you do NOT want to catch, but it isn't the black plague...