Threat of avian flu prompts call for preparedness
By Molly Albertson
Cape Gazette staff
A statewide summit about a possible pandemic has left locals squawking about bird flu.
Federal officials on a nationwide awareness tour urged communities to prepare in advance for worst-case scenarios, including a possible six-week quarantine, if avian flu becomes a virus transmitted from person to person.
“You need to do this now. You need a plan and a strategy for preparedness,” said Alfonso Martinez-Fonts Jr., special assistant to the secretary for the private sector of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Small communities and even neighborhoods need to organize, officials said, because if a pandemic strikes, many people will be confined to their homes. Under quarantine, people will have no way to get to hospitals, grocery stores or town centers, officials said at the Feb. 21 meeting in Dover.
Pandemic planning requires addressing the role of schools, businesses, public agencies, faith-based organizations and others, said U.S. Department of Health and Human Service Deputy Secretary Alex Azar.
“This is an ever-present threat,” U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona said.
Few local plans
But Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach don’t have emergency plans for any event, and certainly not a pandemic.
While Lewes has an Emergency Operations Plan it does not include any possible outbreaks of illness, said Nelson Wiles, who is responsible for the plan.
“Its not something we’re considering right now. Its not a major threat as far as we’re aware,” said Wiles.
Other town officials are responding to the pleas. “We don’t have a coherent plan, but we’re going to write one,” said Rehoboth Beach Mayor Sam Cooper, who attended the summit.
Cooper said $25,000 will be budgeted to hire a consultant to write a plan that will include a pandemic flu outbreak as well as natural disasters.
Dewey Beach acknowledged the need for an emergency plan at the Jan 11 town meeting. “We have a plan, but it is insufficient,” town attorney Rob Witsil said. Dewey is also organizing an emergency preparedness plan committee.
“We know what we need to do,” said Town Manager Gordon Elliott, who has been going to emergency planning meetings for months.
Beebe Medical Center does have a plan in case of emergency, said Dr. Paul Cowan, staff physician and coordinator of disaster planning. “We have identified areas that are not used for primary patient care that we could use,” he said. For instance, the pre-operation area and the visitors’ café could be converted for patient care if other areas were beyond capacity.
No direction for action
The summit seemed to provide questions rather than clarity to locals who attended. “The state says they’ve done all this planning, but I don’t know how we can bring it to our community,” Cooper said.
In a public discussion with Martinez-Fonts and FEMA Program Coordinator Branch Chief Karin Crawford, many fears were brought to light and described as real possibilities, but no solutions were offered.
“There is a real possibility of lawlessness and you need to prevent that,” Crawford said. In a pandemic one-third of the population could be sick, while another one-third would be staying home, leaving a skeleton crew to run daily operations, she said.
“Do we need to worry about this or is the state going to handle this?” asked Cooper about the many details such as trash pick-up, power outages, and even burial of dead.
“If every house is supposed to have food in case of a quarantine that lasts a few weeks, what about the rental homes in Dewey where people are in and out every week?” asked Commissioner Dell Tush about one of the suggestions for individual preparation.
“If the county can’t bring anything to the table, what are we supposed to do?” Cooper asked.
Wiles said the state does not require municipalities to enact plans for the possible pandemic.
Delaware leads in many areas of avian flu preparedness, according to Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, but local communities need to step up their plans, she said during the summit. The poultry industry has its own plan that includes steps taken when or if birds get the flu.
As part of the federal preparedness plan, $698,960 was awarded to Delaware for planning focused on practical, community-based procedures that could prevent or delay the spread of the flu, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said. But municipalities are still left wondering just what to do in case of an outbreak
Semper Dubious
Semper Blush