-
Source: Reuters -
Related
On Friday morning I touched base over the phone with TVNZ Australian based cameraman Jason Hull. We talk most mornings. It's more of a heads up for Jason so he knows what riveting journalism I will be delighting the TVNZ audience with that night.
Now, Jason usually has a spring in his step and is raring to get
stuck into a day's work. But on this particular morning, Jason was
a little bit subdued, a bit under the weather one might say. I
immediately thought H1N1. The right side of my brain said poor
Jason, while the left side of my brain thought, great story, 'TVNZ
cameraman contracts H1N1'!
Fortunately or unfortunately, Jason hasn't got the H1N1 flu, but at
the time of writing this, more than 1,300 Australians have
contracted the virus. Australia's Health Minister Nicola Roxon
updates the media daily as the flu spreads across the country.
"1,336 publicly confirmed cases" she said. More than 1,000 of these
in Victoria and it's only going to get worse with the onset of
winter and the flu season.
I have been considering wearing a mask on trains and buses, but surprisingly no one else is bothering to cover their mugs up. I was alarmed to learn that the normal masks are useless and that you need a mask that suctions itself to your face. Sort of like a vacuum cleaner on low power. I went to a chemist to buy one, a mask that is, not a vacuum cleaner, but they were sold out.
Despite the H1N1 onslaught, there's no panic in the streets. Everyone is quite laid back about the whole thing. Australians are handling this like, well, Australians really. They're very laid back about the whole saga and have that sometimes annoying 'she'll be right' attitude, which often comes out in a crisis.
But I'm told this is not a crisis. WHO officials say H1N1 is not a problem as long as people are detected and receive treatment. The six people currently in hospital , four in intensive care, were already suffering from serious health problems before they contracted the virus. And now I'm told the WHO boffins are working on a new, more effective vaccine which should be ready for release by August.
Knowing that, I think I'll leave my mask in my bag and get cameraman Jason out and about working hard.
World News Video
-
Dangerous rush to Everest summit (1:59)
-
Dozens killed in Syrian massacre (2:09)
-
'King of Romance' competes in Eurovision (1:46)
