A bird flu pandemic would kill nearly 700 people in Virginia’s Fairfax County, forcing hospitals, nursing homes and other medical centers to set up temporary morgues and stockpile body bags to handle the deaths, according to a government report.
The Fairfax report presents a grim scene. A severe outbreak of bird flu would infect nearly a third of the county’s population. As much as 40 percent of the county’s 11,000 work force would be out of commission.
To prepare for such a scenario, the county is giving government officials, infectious disease specialists and first responders explicit instructions. The goal is to minimize the transmission of the virus while keeping the county government running.
The county would track infections through by local doctors and hospitals. Sites would be set up to distribute a potential vaccine or medicine, and sick people could be quarantined. Many county employees would work from home, and hundreds could be diverted from their jobs in “nonessential” agencies. Others would be ordered to stay home.
Topics Virginia
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