Napolitano declares public health emergency

The Hill ^

[Sub-Driver]

Napolitano declares public health emergency @ 1:01 pm by Eric Zimmermann

The United States will declare the swine flu outbreak a public health emergency, Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano said today.

Speaking at a White House press briefing, Napolitano said the declaration is not as severe it sounds.

"It allows us to free up state and local resources" that otherwise would not be available, Napolitano said.

The declaration does not necessarily convey the authority to initiate quarantines.

"We're nowhere near that kind of decision," Napolitano said.

Also at the briefing, the Director of the Center for Disease Control, Richard Besser, warned that there will likely be more cases of the swine flu detected in the U.S., adding those cases will grow more severe.

[Miss Didi]

I believe Rush calls him that. I just call him Boy Wonder.

[1000 silverlings]

I saw that on this site
http://www.legitgov.org/flu_oddities.html

[Miss Didi]

[Miss Didi]

I think that CNN Deepak guy was supposed to take the job but then declined.

[huldah1776]

This would be a great way to test out a perfected virus, and let’s see, where was the bird flu a while back?

[Recovering_Democrat]

The entire administration is a wandering group of clowns. Gibbs, Obama, Axeldink, Rahm, Biden, their pets in the press...all of ‘em.

[EBH]

That statement doesn't even begin to make sense really.

They are not quarantining today, maybe tomorrow, and then off to a FEMA camp!

Oh yippie....

Lord, please have mercy on my soul. I am not that stupid!

[Drill Thrawl]

Those train cars are auto-carriers. They make for lousy people carriers. They are stacking up all over the place becuase cars are not selling, so they stack the cars they don’t need on sidings.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

That press conference was awful..........they looked incompetent..

Good to know the package accurately reflects the contents.

[the Fun in Fundamentalist]

And now we’ll be seeing BH0’ s Civilian National Security Force operating in full effect. It doesn’t strike me as a coincide that Obama tripled the size of Americorps last week, and now we may have a pandemic flu outbreak on our hands?

Follow the money.

[magooey]

he ha[]s said time and time again, he does NOT work on weekends. Saturday night is dinner date night and he takes weekends off.

The true American Obambi really learned the lessons of Pearl Harbor. /s

[magooey]

I’m calling it Mexiflu, from another poster’s suggestion

With this flu's components, we are two thirds of the way to ManBearPig flu.

[SilvieWaldorfMD]

My sister and her hubby have been in Cancun and Cozumel since Thursday and they just called today AND ARE TOTALLY OBLIVIOUS TO WHAT IS HAPPENING REGARDING THIS MEXIFLU THING!

She says they have been told NOTHING by NO ONE. They are due to fly back into Boston tomorrow, and I’m just wondering what sort of precautions U.S. Customs is going to take when they land.

[BellStar]

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico empowers health department to isolate patients, inspect homes in swine flu outbreak.

Think we are next!!!!!!!!

[BellStar]

Was in Cozumel last month never heard a word !

[Disambiguator]

Talk about a lose/lose situation.

You mean, "loose/loose," don't you?

;^)

[floriduh voter]

Napolitano supposedly subbing for HHS who hasn't been sworn in by Joe Biden yet. Of course they're hiding something. What will this do to "the one's" big 100 day speech DURING AMERICAN IDOL's time slot upcoming this week?

When the dems start barfing, they'll quit him.

[Tench_Coxe]

Just to kick up the paranoia a notch, anyone recall Biden saying something about a ‘crisis’ that will need the support of ACORN goons and the like? And isn’t it about on schedule?

[floriduh voter]

When al quaeda boards planes to Amerika, they’ll be asked if they have the flu and they’ll say they do not. They never lie and they and their germs will get in if they’re not already here (which they probably are).

[floriduh voter]

This broke on the weekend so polling numbers for Friday would be high for Bambi’s 100 day anniversary. People didn’t just start croaking and getting sick yesterday.