Resolve to be ready in 2008
Residents Urged to Prepare for Disasters
2008 Preparedness Article Series - Six

The last article focused on preparedness on the local, state, and national level. Now let's look at some steps that may need to be taken during a pandemic.

In a pandemic, authorities might be required to take some "common-good" actions to protect the health of our residents. These steps would be taken with the intent to prevent the spread of illness. For the good of everyone, you should be prepared to comply with these decisions.

Authorities may need to close schools, close businesses, direct everyone to follow certain hygiene steps, limit public gatherings and events where people come into close contact, request that everyone stay home for a certain period, or limit travel. An example is churches could be asked to cancel services, limit funerals to just a few minutes or even require that only family members attend funerals. One or more of these steps could be taken and you should be prepared to follow these rules.

You may hear new terms to describe some actions that will be taken. 'Social distancing' is the act of requiring people to maintain a certain distance from other people. When people cough and sneeze, droplets from some illnesses like colds and flu, can linger in the air. If people are required to stay a few feet away from each other, they may not breathe in or ingest the droplets, thereby limiting the spread of illness.

'Self isolation' is when a person is asked to stay at home and away from others. This could be requested of people who have certain symptoms during a disease outbreak.

'Non-pharmaceutical intervention' is the use of techniques such as social distancing or self isolation that do not involve the use of medicines to reduce the spread of illness.

As mentioned earlier, in a pandemic everyone will be called on to do their part. Individual preparation and compliance with healthy behaviors remain our best defense against any disease. Get prepared and be ready to comply with the requests of authorities who may have to make decisions for the common good.

More preparedness information is available at your local health department, Emergency Management Agency office or these websites: www.ready.gov, www.phdistrict2.org, www.health.state.ga.us, www.pandemicflu.gov, www.fema.gov, www.redcross. org.