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November 10 網路新聞:為何不先做環評台灣不重視專業的又一明證!官大學問大,代表專業在這些人眼中只是狗屎! 【中央網路報】造林斷了糧?鰲鼓濕地 猛禽恐絕跡 http://www.cdnews.com.tw 2009-11-09 11:36:14
造林前,東石農場還未造林前,隨處可見剛收成及翻土的農地。
造林後,嘉義東石農場原有大片田地,造林後樹木高達五公尺,導致黑翅鳶等猛禽無法獵捕到老鼠,數量逐年減少。 張達智/整理 November 09 談論主題 World's Best Universities: Life Sciences and Biomedicine Universities - US News and World Report重點是前50沒有台彎大學,但對岸、香港、及日本都有上榜!台灣社會似乎也不重視,仍在自我陶醉,看來台灣不只政治及經濟被邊緣化!
選舉怪現象小地方選舉,現任候選人呢,大貼明後年將舉辦活動的廣告看板,除了幾個大字外,其餘就是其本人的特寫照,選舉活動開始前就已張貼,除了是特權可提前宣傳外,居然用公帑替自己宣傳。今年第三季,又出現到處挖馬路的工程,消化預算。這現象在前政府時代已有改善,沒想到換了中央政府後又死灰復燃。可憐的還是納稅人,花錢不但沒消災,還造成自個不便。 小弟所居之地,可能是台灣機車最囂張之處。台北到處都有的兩段式待轉區,在此地可是稀世珍品。常可見機車就騎在馬路正中央,悠哉悠哉地,彷彿機車有四個輪子般。每位機車騎士都有資格入選神風特攻隊,大辣辣由右到左,斜斜穿過十字路口,眾汽車還得禮讓三分。不過我們的父母官不知是習以為常還是不管人民死活,總是視而不見。這亂象由來已久,數年前X家班執政期間,規定機車可以不必遵守單行道規定,不知機車騎士還得遵守啥規定? 最近還有一位議員候選人,海報看起來像是瑜珈老師招生。這還不稀奇,宣傳車出來,不說候選人理念及政見,居然說候選人的阿公是校長,阿嬤是…,舅舅是…,不知是要選她還是要選阿公? 呵呵,amazing huh? October 31 Not again!幾年前郵輪撞到Bay bridge,發生漏油事件,死了不少鳥類,怎麼又來了! Oil spills into S.F. Bay south of Bay BridgeHeather Knight, Marisa Lagos, Henry K. Lee, Peter Fimrite,,John Coté, Chronicle Staff Writers Friday, October 30, 2009 (10-30) 15:57 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- State and federal officials are trying to figure out what caused a Panamanian tanker to spill heavy bunker fuel in the bay today, triggering an emergency operation to clean up a sheen several miles long south of the Bay Bridge, the Coast Guard said. The spill occurred at 6:48 a.m. as a barge pumped fuel into the tanker Dubai Star 2 1/2 miles south of the bridge, officials said. Emergency crews were scrambling to contain the oil slick and prevent it from reaching shore, where it could harm wildlife. After realizing what had happened, the ship's crew shut off the source of the spill, officials said, but the oil had already spilled onto the Dubai Star's deck and poured into the water, where it was drifting with the tide. Officials said they are not sure whether human error or mechanical failure caused the spill. "There are a number of safeguards in place," for fuel transfers, said Coast Guard Capt. Paul Gugg. "There are people at both ends of the transfer who are communicating, and there's the equipment. ... Whether it was personnel or mechanical failure, we're not ready to say." The Dubai Star is a Panamanian-flagged vessel built in 2007. It is owned by South Harmony Shipping Inc. of Panama and was carrying light jet fuel as cargo as it headed into the Bay Area. The fuel that spilled was propulsion fuel, not the ship's cargo. The Coast Guard was quickly notified along with the Marine Spill Response Corp., a nonprofit oil spill removal organization. Within four hours, the ship was encircled by booms and the immediate spill area was contained, according to Gugg. The Coast Guard deployed skimming vessels and five boats equipped with booms to protect environmentally sensitive areas. Marine Spill Response crews in three other vessels laid 14,000 feet of booms in an attempt to limit the disaster. Two vessels from the National Response Corp., a company the Coast Guard contracted to clean up the spill, were also working to contain the oil. "The notifications to the people who are conducting the cleanup were made very quickly," said Senior Chief Petty officer Keith Alholm. "The tanker crew itself enacted their vessel response plan immediately, notifying the Coast Guard. They did their best to secure the incident." The amount of oil spilled could be as much as a few thousand gallons, said Mayor Gavin Newsom at an early afternoon press conference in his office. He said as much as 40 percent of the oil had been contained. But Coast Guard officials refused to speculate about the amount of oil that was spilled or the cause of the breach. "There's no such thing as a small spill," Gugg said. No oil had been reported on shore by late afternoon, but city officials asked the state to put booms around Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island. Alholm said the fact that there was no fog and very little wind was helping the cleanup effort, but the tides, as always, were a concern. When the spill occurred, the tide was coming into the bay and carrying the oil south, toward the Peninsula and southern Alameda County. The sheen moved about four miles south before it switched direction at 10 a.m. and began moving north and east. The Port of San Francisco and the fire department were standing by to place booms around the port if necessary. Sensitive sites along the waterfront include Heron Head park, Islais Creek, the sea lion sanctuary at Pier 39 and the historic ships at Pier 45. "We have been in constant contact with the Coast Guard and Fish and Game," Newsom said. "This is not of the magnitude by any stretch of the imagination of the incident two years ago." The container ship Cosco Busan sideswiped the Bay Bridge on Nov. 7, 2007, spilling 58,000 gallons of the same kind of fuel oil into the bay. That disaster created an uproar after miscommunication and foot-dragging allowed time for strong bay currents to disperse the sludge and foul beaches throughout the Bay Area. Nine hours lapsed before officials were told that 58,000 gallons of oil had spilled after initial reports of only 400 gallons. Bunker fuel washed up on beaches in the bay and along the Pacific coast from Sonoma to San Mateo counties, killing some 2,400 birds and costing about $70 million to clean up. State, federal and local officials appeared together today at a news conference where they stressed that the magnitude of the current spill - as well as the response time - was extremely different this time. "There has been a great partnership and cooperation thus far with the city, state and other responsible parties," Gugg said, adding that the ship's managers have also been responsive. "There are some similarities (to 2007) - the type of fuel is about the same - but that's where they end." Jared Blumenfeld, director of the city's Department of the Environment, said a command center was set up today in Alameda to monitor the situation with a particular concern for the welfare of migratory birds, including ducks, that have just arrived in the area. "They're particularly vulnerable, and this isn't a great welcome presence for them," he said. "All the most vulnerable birds are here." Lt. Rob Roberts, of the Department of Fish and Game, said state officials had found no evidence of oil on birds or other wildlife by late this afternoon. But a helicopter hovering over the spill at about 10 a.m. reported seeing birds diving into the oil slick, said Sylvia Wright, a spokeswoman for the Oiled Wildlife Care Network, which has been mobilized to do reconnaissance and recovery of oiled birds and other wildlife. "We do expect that there will be birds that need to be rescued," Wright said. Anyone who sees oiled wildlife should call (877) 823-6926, she said. E-mail the writers at hlee@sfchronicle.com, pfimrite@sfchronicle.com, hknight@sfchronicle.com and jcote@sfchronicle.com.. Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/30/BA9B1ACTST.DTL#ixzz0VTgsbUG8 October 24 看報告收不收費?這件事最近上了版面,院方也發公告因應。 我個人意見是,會有這樣想法,是因台灣從來不尊重專業。家裡叫個水電工來看看,即使沒做啥,也要付錢,那為何看報告不用付錢? 報告只有數字,報告判讀必須加上判斷,醫師除須解釋外,尚須承擔誤判後果。也就是說,醫師是要負責的! 另外,當天做檢查,若要等報告,以敝院忙碌的情形,醫師不可能一整天都在等報告出來後向病人解釋。例如照X光病人等到一百多號,又有骨科病人照X光,一等就是兩個小時,不可能所有病人都能當診次就看到,何況有些報告就是要數天。如前所說,下次回診看X光報告,醫師得判讀是否正常,難道判讀正常就不應該收費? 如果真是如此,建議由掛號櫃檯直接列印報告給病人,連掛號都不必了,還可省去列印掛號單的耗材,病人也不用久候,不是很好?什麼都要醫師負責 (政客從不負責),又不讓醫師收費!? 不過,換個角度想,如果看完報告退掛,則病歷沒有紀錄,說錯我就不負責任了!這樣似乎也不錯,呵呵! 這樣的後果會如何?可能以後醫師只念X光科的報告或印X光科的報告給病人,然後就可以退掛號,反正又沒有紀錄?沒有收入又沒有責任,何必認真看呢?如此受損的是誰的權益呢? 希望不要有這樣的結果! October 07 新鮮事:加州麵條必須冷藏? 亞洲商家:斷送生意20091005 05:02:08 (中央社記者江今葉洛杉磯3日專電)加州州政府要求所有麵條都必須冷藏,以確保不受污染。經營餐館的亞洲商家表示,麵條冷藏會變得容易斷裂,不好吃,這是斷送生意的規定,將串聯抗議。
從此沒有好吃的拉麵囉! August 14 無政府狀態記者鄒景雯/專訪 前陸軍副司令劉湘濱中將曾在國安會任內投入九二一救災工作,他昨日指出,八八水災迄今已經好幾天了,中央政府應該回答,災區指揮系統建立了嗎?救災部隊整合投入了嗎?十年前的九二一都可以做到,為什麼現在反而大退步做不到?馬英九總統做為三軍統帥必須負起最大責任! 劉湘濱表示,馬總統跑到第一線去打電話給台北市消防局長,顯示他連指揮體系都搞不清楚,他不知道總統要幹什麼?行政院長、內政部長也搞不清狀況,國安會則在睡覺。CNN批評台灣政府救災救得亂七八糟、七手八腳,這翻成中文就叫無政府狀態,因此大家只有自求多福,災民全都活該。 劉湘濱強調,大型救災最重要的第一步是重建指揮系統,因為大型災害已把原來的行政系統摧毀掉了,地方政府也成了受災戶,因此必須重建架構,看看美國等其他國家,遇到這種情況一定由軍隊下去,因為軍隊有現成的指揮系統,九二一地震就是陸軍總司令當災區總指揮官,但現在連組織都沒有,這個政府在救什麼災? 整合動員 無政府狀態 他質疑,看看現在總統身邊跟著什麼人?竟是候選人!總統居然拿起電話打給台北市消防局長,這不是天大笑話嗎?將來這可以當成錯誤示範的教材。劉兆玄孤家寡人跑去睡高雄國軍英雄館,一點用也沒有,因為他們根本沒有救災部隊可指揮,所謂的中央應變中心、前進指揮所當然沒有功能,只是給媒體照相用的,甚至比電視台都不如,所以一出事情,就中央推地方,地方推中央,中央連組織架構都沒重建出來,還推什麼?地方都垮了還怎麼怪?他們乾脆去怪小林村村長好了,怪他們為什麼不自救?他因此痛斥,官僚真是可惡! 劉湘濱說,國防部公開講他們要什麼我們就做什麼,這是因為沒賦予他任務,當然變被動,誰能賦予他任務,只有總統,總統做為三軍統帥不把部隊叫出來,行政院怎麼用?這是總統職責,國安會竟說不關他們的事。 他批評,如果軍隊不丟下去,別的不說,連通訊都有問題,一直到第四天,大家叫了以後,才把特戰隊丟到小林村等山區,這是第二天就該做的事,軍隊下去後才知道狀況,九二一的第一天就投了一萬多軍隊下去,現在幾個人?這樣延遲還不可惡嗎? 他並說,更可惡的,馬做為總統,到了嘉義只想到以前台北市有救生艇,卻不知道旁邊就是陸戰隊,突擊舟多得是,而突擊舟的好處是底下橡皮不會被異物刮破,軍隊有裝備,因此有救災能力,他為什麼不用? 劉湘濱氣憤表示,無知就會自大,馬以為他法律系畢業的,以為很懂法,說緊急命令不需要,大家看著到時候一大堆問題會出來,災害防救法只能救局部災害,把工分得很細,與大型災害完全不搭軋,沒有緊急命令,許多行政程序會有問題,最後要復建,後面的問題還更大。例如要修橋,按行政程序慢慢走,兩年也蓋不起來,預算執行也會有問題,災民真的會氣死。 情形失控 還不知檢討 他指出,美國國務院特別強調美國部隊已經待命,但台灣沒有要求,是因為看到台灣軍隊沒動,「可能以為台灣的部隊都死光了」,美國會表態是因為看不下去了,九二一時美國只派救難隊來,這次他們為什麼要部隊待命?這個話難道聽不懂嗎?表示你已經失控了,還不知檢討嗎?一個國家遇到這麼大的災害,軍隊到現在未投入,現在零零星星的部隊是沒有用的,這責任是誰的?就是馬英九。 這是我們的總統嗎?![]() 任何人,可能馬先生除外,都會用『we』而非『they』。這樣的馬先生,如何苦民所苦? *苦民所苦本身即有封建思想 〔記者曾韋禎、王寓中/台北報導〕台灣風災引發國際媒體矚目,馬政府的防災作為也成關注焦點。前天有外國記者在災區訪問馬英九,對此次風災準備是否應該更充分,但馬答覆卻先撇清責任,指稱是災民沒有充分準備、「他們」堅持待在家園、「他們」沒有提早撤離。民進黨立委因此痛批,馬英九這樣說只差沒用中文罵災民死有餘辜,這是一個殘忍又丟臉的國家元首。馬英九用如此輕蔑的態度面對災民,顯示既沒心也沒能力面對這場災難。 府:馬的訊息來自救難隊軍方 馬英九將災情嚴重歸咎於民眾準備不足及未及早撤離,引發爭議,府方人士昨天解釋,馬總統此番談話是幾次勘災中,從軍方和救難隊獲知的訊息,這次莫拉克颱風,相關人員都曾遇到部分災民不願撤離的情況。 府方人士並說,災害防救法明定,政府必要時得進行強制撤離,未來將以公權力保護民眾安全,避免類似情事重演。 和CNN有合作關係的英國獨立電視網ITN記者卡區盧,前天在高雄旗山國中採訪報導,遇到馬英九前往視察,他質問馬說,台灣這次風災的準備是否應該更充分? 馬以英文回答說,「不是的,這個地區是多年來第一次如此,以致他們沒有充分準備。如果早有準備,應該會更早撤離。因為他們都守著家園,不知道災難會如此慘重。」 立委賴清德說,馬在颱風準備登陸的八月七日,還有心情去參加喜宴說冷笑話,讓自己拖著疲憊的身軀去災害應變中心。災害發生後,就忙著清算前朝,還說救災都是地方政府責任,顯示他沒用心在台灣人民身上。 賴清德表示,馬英九反對動用緊急命令,讓救災、重建面對種種阻礙,反而是打電話給北市消防局長,藉以塑造個人風格;現在還用英文把責任推給災民,他以為說英文大家就聽不懂嗎? 立委管碧玲指出,從未看過哪個國家的元首把重大天災推到人民頭上,馬英九是第一個。難怪周美青又要出來幫馬英九善後了。 Don't Give Up (You Are Loved)Keep going, don't give up!
June 29 CDC estimates H1N1 has infected one million AmericansThe AP (6/26, Stobbe) reports, "Swine flu has infected as many as one million Americans, US health officials said Thursday, adding that six percent or more of some urban populations are infected." The estimate "was no surprise to the experts who have been closely watching the virus." Lyn Finelli, a flu surveillance official with the CDC "made the one million estimate in a presentation to the vaccine panel," using "mathematical modeling, based on surveys by health officials." At the meeting, CDC officials also "made projections about flu vaccines expected to be available to protect against both seasonal and swine flu this fall," suggesting that "more than 25 million doses of seasonal flu vaccine should be available by early September." The Los Angeles Times (6/26, Maugh) notes that Finelli told the vaccine advisory committee in Atlanta that "standard models of viral spread indicate that many times" the reported figure of 28,000 "have been infected. Although one million seems like a high number, between 15 million and 60 million Americans are infected by the influenza virus during a normal flu season." Nationwide, "at least 3,065 of those infected in this country have been hospitalized and 127 have died. The very young are most likely to be infected, Finelli said, but older patients seem to suffer more. The average age of swine flu victims is 12, the average age of hospitalized patients is 20 and the average age of those who have died is 37, she said." Bloomberg News (6/26, Randall) reports, "Swine flu is responsible for about 98 percent of the influenza cases tested in the US, overshadowing other strains in a population with little natural resistance to the new virus, a US study found." The CDC reported that "the new flu, H1N1, is widespread across 11 states and circulating in parts of 19 others." Bloomberg also quotes Lyn Finelli saying, "So far it doesn't look like transmission is declining at all." Michigan says it will stop providing H1N1 information to public. The Detroit News (6/26, Stolarz) reports, "The swine flu has claimed two other Michigan residents, putting the state's death toll at seven, according to state health officials." However, "more information was not available as the state is no longer releasing information to the public." Michigan Department of Community Health spokesman James McCurtis said, "Now, as we accumulate more deaths, which is unfortunate, we're leaving it up to the local county health departments to funnel that information out." So far Michigan has 655 confirmed and probable cases of H1N1. 結論是可以不用防了,因為防不勝防,無從防起!飲食正常,保持健康最重要! June 17 2008台灣十大死因衛生署公告昨日去年十大死亡原因。
2008十大主要死因順位依序為
(1)惡性腫瘤38,913人
(2)心臟疾病15,762人
(3)腦血管疾病10,663人
(4)肺炎8,661人
(5)糖尿病8,036人
(6)意外事故 7,077人
(7)慢性下呼吸道疾病 5,374人
(8)慢性肝病及肝硬化4,917人
(9)自殺4,128人
(10) 腎炎、腎徵症候群及腎性病變4,012人。
看起來近年內還不會餓死,哈哈!以上言論請勿當真!
癌症部份,依各癌症粗死亡率排序,97年十大主要癌症順位與死亡人數占率分別為:
(1)肺癌20.0%
(2)肝癌19.7%
(3)結腸直腸癌11.0%
(4)女性乳癌4.0%
(5)胃癌5.9%
(6)口腔癌5.7%
(7)攝護腺癌2.3%
(8)子宮頸癌1.8%
(9)食道癌3.7%
(10)胰臟癌3.5%。 June 09 又來了! 依照往例,每次醫改會發表新聞,一定又配合健保局動作,這次,當然也不例外!健保局人事大地震囉! 如果醫改會真注重病人權益,為何不向台北縣市政府催討保費? 醫改會:醫院慢箋開太少 病患每年多花5億 【16:10】
〔中央社〕台灣醫療改革基金會今天表示,公立醫院及醫學中心慢性病處方箋開立率太低,65%未達預定的慢箋開立率目標,讓慢性病患需多花掛號費及部分負擔費用,每年金額達新台幣5億元。 台灣醫療改革基金會以健保局97年第三季各醫院開立慢性處方箋(慢箋)資料進行統計,上午召開記者會說明國內醫學中心及公立醫院開立慢箋狀況。 醫改會董事長張苙雲指出,全台有超過700萬罹患慢性疾病患者,約有1/3病情穩定,醫院可開給慢箋,讓患者憑慢箋藥單到藥局領藥,不須至醫療院所掛號看 診領藥,可節省病患掛號費、部分負擔等花費及候診時間;但醫院為增加門診業績,並防止處方箋外流而少賺藥價利潤,不願配合開立慢箋政策。 張苙雲表示,健保監理會通過97年醫院開立慢箋比率目標為24%,根據醫改會統計,國內醫學中心及公立醫院共102家,有高達65%不及格,包括公立醫院73家及大型醫學中心6家;其中衛生署所屬35家署立醫院及國防部管轄的14家醫院,全數不及格。 張苙雲說,若醫院未開慢箋給符合條件的慢性病患,病患必須到醫院掛號看診、領藥,每人一年可能多花費的掛號費及部分負擔,平均4000元至6000元不等,讓病患權利嚴重受損。 根據醫改會統計,公立醫院讓病患為拿藥而一年多看約78萬次門診,多付掛號費及部分負擔等費用達4億4000多萬元。醫學中心則讓慢性病患一年多看25萬 次門診,多付了1億9000多萬元,其中三總及北榮兼具公立及醫學中心屬性,扣除重複的1億3000多萬元,醫改會表示,慢性病患每年因而損失的總費用5 億元。 張苙雲在記者會中並要求各公立醫院及醫學中心帶頭配合開立慢箋政策,並建議將開立慢箋比率列入醫療院所「分配健保金額」及「醫院評鑑評分」依據,防止醫院不配合。 May 20 事實的真相
這樣也算受辱?也要扯上SARS?也要說用生命愛台灣?請問葉先生SARS期間是否親自照顧SARS病人?沒有的話,算啥用生命愛台灣?充其量不過是替馬英九進和平醫院,替馬英九拼命。那些死去的醫護人員算啥?如果這樣也要居功,那當年我照顧陳護理長及蔡藥師,那我不就應該當大官,也該發了?兩回事也要硬扯?台灣都沒人才了嗎?
謝炎堯醫師,也是葉某人老師,不過發表對防疫的看法,葉某人居然說,輪不到他 (說話)!不斷地以抗SARS英雄自居,又容不下不同言論,這樣的人如何領導台灣醫療衛生?同胞得自求多福了!
Updated 20090521
當日大張旗鼓,時而張牙舞爪,時而可憐兮兮,現在又說無關緊要?官場語言,沒一句真話!只能說,物以類聚,看狗就知道主人是啥德性! May 16 Be careful if you are going to buy a korean car!That's why they offer life-long guarantee in US.
NHTSA investigates Hyundai Sonata for extreme corrosion 04/30/2008, 12:26 pm BY DREW JOHNSON The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched an investigation involving 1999 to 2002 model year Hyundai Sonatas. The investigation is a result of 40 complaints that the vehicles suffer from extreme corrosion, both in the vehicles' frame and engine cradle. According to the NHTSA, some consumers have reported "fist-sized holes in the frame" that can lead to "wheel collapse or separation, half shaft detachment resulting in sudden vehicle disablement and or steering anomalies." The NHSTA believes that road salts could be to blame, as most of the cases are from "salt belt" states. While some Sonata owners have noticed the corrosion during routine maintenance, the majority of complaints allege that the problem wasn't notice until the suspension system completely failed, says Consumer Affairs. While no injuries have been linked to the defect, several accidents have been reporting — including owners traveling at 65 mph when a wheel suddenly falls off or the suspension fails. The NHSTA website tells of one such accident that "resulted in the vehicle becoming disabled in the traffic lane at night with the driver and child stuck in the car" while "passing traffic swerved around the vehicle at high speeds." With a pending recall this serious, we expected Hyundai to chime in on the investigation very soon. May 07 H1N1 Outbreak Milder Than Expected, Officials SayH1N1 outbreak said to be milder than expected.NBC Nightly News (5/5, story 3, 2:05, Curry) reported on the H1N1 outbreak, noting that there are "more signs that the government believes the virus may be manageable even as we learn today of the first death of an American flu patient." NBC noted that HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius toured CDC headquarters in Atlanta on Tuesday, afterwards warning, "as officials have from the outset, that more Americans would die of swine flu as more cases appear." Sebelius said, "Those numbers will go up. We anticipate, unfortunately, that they're likely to be more hospitalizations and more deaths." The CBS Evening News (5/5, story 5, 0:35, Glor) added that by Tuesday "the CDC confirmed more than 400 flu cases in 38 states." However, "US health officials are no longer recommending schools close because of the flu now that the virus has turned out to be milder than initially feared." ABC World News (5/5, lead story, 2:55, Gibson) added, "What a difference a week makes. Last Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control issued an advisory to local communities, urging them to consider cancelling school if a case of swine flu was confirmed or even suspected." But by Tuesday "afternoon, federal officials reversed themselves, saying the outbreak is not as severe as once feared, and canceling school is no long longer necessary." Acting CDC director Dr. Richard Besser said, "When we hear of the difficulty involved, of children who are dropped at libraries because there's nowhere for home care, of people who could lose their jobs because they don't have sick leave. These factors are really real." Besser continued "that people should continue taking common-sense measures, such as washing their hands frequently, and that sick adults should stay home from work for a week," according to the Washington Post (5/6, Stein, Vise). The Post adds that the CDC's retraction of the recommendation schools close if a student is infected with H1N1 is "a move that reflects growing confidence that the outbreak may be milder than initially feared, despite the death of the first American from the illness." This "shift in policy will ease the most tangible impact of the outbreak for most Americans," allowing "at least 726 schools nationwide" to reopen. USA Today (5/6, Weise, Toppo) reports that the "new advice, unveiled Tuesday by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, comes as more than...a combined 468,000 students" have seen their schools closed. The CDC's advice "that schools close for up to two weeks if they had infected students, was superseded by new information about the mildness of the virus and the fact that in areas where it's in schools, it's also in communities, so closing schools doesn't affect its spread, Sebelius says." According to Bloomberg News (5/6, Randall, Staley), Besser said, "Anyone who closed their school based on our recommendation, we no longer feel that closure is warranted. ... The big focus now is on identifying children who are ill" and having parents keep them home from school. The AP (5/6, Noveck) reports that, as schools closed, "hundreds of thousands of parents scrambled to meet an unexpected logistical challenge: What to do with the kids?" Now as schools reopen, "few parents seemed worried that their kids would be vulnerable to swine flu by going back to school," but some are wondering "whether school districts might extend their calendars into the summer to make up for lost time." The Los Angeles Times (5/6, Maugh, Wilkinson) adds that Dr. Besser said, "The downsides of school closure begin to outweigh the benefits." Sebelius noted, "The lethality seems to be lower" than expected. "As lab technicians worldwide continued to plow through the backlog of samples to be tested, the number of new confirmed cases continued to rise, reaching 511 in the US as of Tuesday afternoon and more than 1,700 worldwide." |
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