Council draws up emergency business plan for swine flu

Acting on guidelines set down by the HSE and the Department of Health and Children in support of State employees, Westmeath County Council is preparing to deal with an outbreak of swine flu locally with its own "business continuity plan", it was revealed last week.Answering a question put forward by Mullingar mayor Cllr. Ruth Illingworth at last week's meeting of Mullingar Town Council, Council officials said that the HSE and the Department had recently advised the local authority of its need to plan in the event of a local outbreak of the H1N1 virus.Although no known cases of swine flu have yet been recorded in the area, the Council is keenly aware of the threat posed to Council business should the swine flu pandemic gather pace in Ireland."Such a pandemic may lead to widespread staff absenteeism across all sectors, both public and private," officials said."The Business Continuity Plan will provide a framework for the maintenance of essential services in the event of a pandemic."The plan will identify the priority services to be maintained, and protocols will be put in place to ensure that staff and the public are protected."Cllr. Illingworth said that she was "satisfied" to see that the Council is covering all angles in the event of an outbreak.But she appealed to the local media to avoid "spreading panic", pointing out that much of the coverage in national newspapers and media outlets abroad was bordering on hysterical.