# 5952
Today the UK government released a 70-page updated pandemic contingency plan which incorporates some of the lessons learned from the 2009 swine flu pandemic.
The PDF Document is available for download from the Department of Health.
While I’ve only had time to give it a cursory glance, one of the major goals is to reduce the economic and societal impact of any pandemic response.
An excerpt from the plan follows:
Business as usual7.4 During a pandemic, the Government will encourage those who are well to carry on with
their normal daily lives for as long and as far as that is possible, whilst taking basic precautions to protect themselves from infection and lessen the risk of spreading influenza to others (see Chapter 4). The UK Government does not plan to close
borders, stop mass gatherings or impose controls on public transport during any pandemic.
While conceding that pandemic severity is hugely unpredictable, this report shies away focusing on `worst case scenarios’.
A couple of examples: They envision no widespread school closings, and a recommend a more conservative approach in the use and distribution of antiviral medications than we saw in 2009.
While a mild or moderate pandemic is admittedly the most likely scenario, how well their plans to maintain `business as usual’ would hold up under a severe pandemic conditions remains to be seen.
For more on this, the UK Department of Health has a press release regarding the publication of this new plan.
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