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Extra cops, volunteers on standby in case flu hits 2010 Winter Games
By Stephanie Levitz (CP) ? 8 hours ago
VANCOUVER, B.C. ? An extra 750 police officers will be standing by for the 2010 Winter Games in case the H1N1 flu pandemic thins their ranks.
The officers are in addition to the 6,000 being deployed at the Games. They'll remain at home but be ready to go at a moment's notice, said RCMP Assistant Commissioner Bud Mercer, the head of security for the Games.
"We would bring them in on short notice for a couple of reasons," he said in an interview Thursday.
"If the threat level changes and if we had a requirement because of illness to bring in extra staff, so that's all part of our contingency planning."
Mercer said the RCMP-led Integrated Security Unit has always had concerns about flu, given the close quarters their officers will be keeping during the Games, including on cruise ships.
"We have medical professionals (and) we have isolation areas that are planned in both the accommodation vessels and up in Whistler," he said.
All of their officers will also get an educational package when they arrive for the Games on flu prevention tips and when to seek help.
Given that the Games are being held during regular flu season, the possibility for seasonal flu to have an impact has always been on the minds of Olympics planners.
The emergence of the H1N1 pandemic this year just made the potential risk from flu more apparent, said Dr. Mike Wilkinson, the director of medical services for the Olympic organizing committee.
The country is now in the throes of the second wave of the pandemic, and health officials from coast to coast to coast have been unrolling vaccination programs.
"We've looked at the contingencies right from the early days, saying what are our risks, how do we mitigate those risks are what are our key functions?" he said in an interview.
"In other words, what do we need to put on the Games at its absolute minimum? And then we have contingencies within both our volunteers and our workforce to back fill if people are sick."
One measure is to have rapid mobile response teams of volunteers who could be deployed quickly in case there is a shortage of personnel.
Both Games staff and police officers are being urged to get the H1N1 vaccine now that it's available to the general population.
A minor controversy erupted when it emerged that the Olympic torch relay team had been vaccinated ahead of the general public.
Games organizes said the decision was made because they are travelling to remote communities and could spread the flu into places that may not have had a problem.
B.C.'s chief health officer, Dr. Perry Kendall, said while contingency plans are important, in the context of the Games and H1N1, they might not be needed.
"By the time three months rolls around, we'll have twice as many people immunized as we have now and all those people who were infected will be immune," he said.
"So we should have higher levels of protection than we have now."
Copyright ? 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jN7eCMdeAw3sNXg_AEW07SjhS0NQ
By Stephanie Levitz (CP) ? 8 hours ago
VANCOUVER, B.C. ? An extra 750 police officers will be standing by for the 2010 Winter Games in case the H1N1 flu pandemic thins their ranks.
The officers are in addition to the 6,000 being deployed at the Games. They'll remain at home but be ready to go at a moment's notice, said RCMP Assistant Commissioner Bud Mercer, the head of security for the Games.
"We would bring them in on short notice for a couple of reasons," he said in an interview Thursday.
"If the threat level changes and if we had a requirement because of illness to bring in extra staff, so that's all part of our contingency planning."
Mercer said the RCMP-led Integrated Security Unit has always had concerns about flu, given the close quarters their officers will be keeping during the Games, including on cruise ships.
"We have medical professionals (and) we have isolation areas that are planned in both the accommodation vessels and up in Whistler," he said.
All of their officers will also get an educational package when they arrive for the Games on flu prevention tips and when to seek help.
Given that the Games are being held during regular flu season, the possibility for seasonal flu to have an impact has always been on the minds of Olympics planners.
The emergence of the H1N1 pandemic this year just made the potential risk from flu more apparent, said Dr. Mike Wilkinson, the director of medical services for the Olympic organizing committee.
The country is now in the throes of the second wave of the pandemic, and health officials from coast to coast to coast have been unrolling vaccination programs.
"We've looked at the contingencies right from the early days, saying what are our risks, how do we mitigate those risks are what are our key functions?" he said in an interview.
"In other words, what do we need to put on the Games at its absolute minimum? And then we have contingencies within both our volunteers and our workforce to back fill if people are sick."
One measure is to have rapid mobile response teams of volunteers who could be deployed quickly in case there is a shortage of personnel.
Both Games staff and police officers are being urged to get the H1N1 vaccine now that it's available to the general population.
A minor controversy erupted when it emerged that the Olympic torch relay team had been vaccinated ahead of the general public.
Games organizes said the decision was made because they are travelling to remote communities and could spread the flu into places that may not have had a problem.
B.C.'s chief health officer, Dr. Perry Kendall, said while contingency plans are important, in the context of the Games and H1N1, they might not be needed.
"By the time three months rolls around, we'll have twice as many people immunized as we have now and all those people who were infected will be immune," he said.
"So we should have higher levels of protection than we have now."
Copyright ? 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jN7eCMdeAw3sNXg_AEW07SjhS0NQ