My colleagues Melanie Warner and Michelle Henry recently wrote two articles on H1N1 Influenza (a.k.a. Swine Flu):
Labour & Employment Legal Alert - May 2009 - Swine Flu - Preparing for the Pandemic (Federally Regulated Employers)
Labour & Employment Legal Alert - May 2009 - Swine Flu - Preparing for the Pandemic (Provincially Regulated Employers)
Labour & Employment Legal Alert - May 2009 - Swine Flu - Preparing for the Pandemic (Provincially Regulated Employers)
The New York Times, and elsewhere, report that the Outbreak in Mexico May Be Smaller Than Feared. They also have a "flu tracker" which tracks "Swine Flue cases worldwide". But there has been a tremendous amount of confusion about the extent of the situation (Will Pandemic be Mild or Kill Millions?)
The media are being blamed for some of this (see Blaming 'Media Hype' for Swine Flu Fears). That being said as one NYT columnist says:
That’s not to say that every disease outbreak will turn into a
dangerous pandemic, any more than every storm will turn into a
Katrina-sized emergency — but keeping an eye on the weather forecast is
still a good idea.
In other words, hope for the best and plan for the worst. That lesson was brought home to Toronto after the 2003 SARS crisis that gripped the city and it's a good lesson for employers, and others.
