Information about Swine Flu (from City's website)
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State says its prepared for swine flu as businesses brace for pandemicBy Shankar P.
New Jersey “is operating from a plan, and not still figuring out what to do” as it responds to the swine flu pandemic, said David Gruber, senior assistant commissioner of the state Department of Health and Senior Services. The state has stocked up on antiviral medicines, masks, gloves and the like, but preparedness among private businesses in the state is patchy.
The state has its own stockpile of 800,000 courses of antiviral agents, and has accepted another 300,000 courses from the federal government, Gruber said. That stockpile includes medicines, antiviral agents, gloves, masks, hand sanitizers and other personal protective equipment.
The health department said in a press release last evening that it has identified five “probable cases” of swine flu, and is arranging for tests at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Each have “mild forms of the flu and are recovering at home,” it said; it expects results to be available in 48 hours.
About half the 18 “critical infrastructure sectors” identified by the federal government “have done full scale planning” and stocked up on supplies of masks, gloves and hand sanitizers, said Matt Conlon, vice president of market development for Cantel Medical Corp., a Little Falls-based maker of infection prevention and control products.
“The larger companies in the other half have put together paper plans, and many are now scrambling to implement them,” said Conlon, who said his phone has been ringing off the hook the past few days. Among the larger companies in New Jersey that Cantel has supplied so far are two pharmaceutical companies, one utility company and one financial services company, he added.
Wells Fargo/Wachovia is sharing information with its 6,300 employees across the state on things they could do to minimize risks and take preventive measures, said Fran Durst, its spokeswoman. The bank also is in touch with public health and emergency response officials “to assess the ongoing activities and any potential impact to us,” she added.