PANDEMIC FLU - PLAN AHEAD  During a flu pandemic, government officials may be required to limit community movement or impose travel restrictions to help prevent the flu virus from spreading. Things to keep in mind: You may be asked to stay home for an extended period of time even if you are not sick. Schools, workplaces and public gatherings such as sporting events or worship services may close temporarily. Mass transportation such as subways, buses, trains and air travel may be limited. You, your family and friends may need to rely on each other when you cannot depend on the services you normally use. Think about how you handle stress and know your strengths. Take steps to plan for, get through and recover from a flu pandemic.   Planning at Home Store a two-week supply of food. Select foods that do not require refrigeration, preparation or cooking. Ensure that formula for infants and any child’s or older person’s special nutritional needs are a part of your planning. Plan for your pets as well. Store a two-week supply of water, 1 gallon of water per person per day, in clean plastic containers. Avoid using containers that will decompose or break, such as milk cartons or glass bottles. Store a supply of nonprescription drugs, such as pain relievers, cough and cold medicines, stomach remedies and anti-diarrheal medication, as well as vitamins and fluids with electrolytes (such as sports drinks). Store health and cleaning supplies, such as bleach, tissues, a thermometer, disposable gloves, soap and alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Ask your health care provider and health insurance company if you can get an extra supply of your regular prescription drugs and medical supplies, such as glucose monitoring supplies. Talk with family members and loved ones about how they would be cared for if they got sick. Planning in Your Community Ask about plans to enable you to stay home if you are or a family member is sick. Find out your employer’s plans to keep the business open if key staff can’t come to work. Find out now about your child’s school or daycare provider’s plans for handling a flu pandemic. Ask if there are plans to encourage sick children to stay home to reduce the spread of the disease. Ask if there are plans to close during a pandemic that would require all the children to remain at home. Planning at Work Encourage your employees to develop family preparedness plans. If they're not prepared, they won't be at work. Encourage staff to stay or go home when ill. Regularly communicate healthy habits: Washing hands regularly, dispensing hand sanitizers, dispensing disinfectant wipes, wipe down common areas and think twice about bringing together large groups of people for meetings, events and other activities.  Institute trigger points to activate pandemic business plans For more indepth information, consider a disaster education presentation for your community group or a workplace disaster preparedness training for your business. For more information, call(206) 323-2345  or (360) 377-3761.   Finding out the answers ahead of time will have a significant impact on your plans and decisions during a flu pandemic.   PANDEMIC FLU PREPAREDNESS   Learn the Facts Stay Healthy Care for Others H1N1/Swine Flu FAQs   Download flyers and brochures: Pandemic Flu Checklist (English) Pandemic Flu Checklist (Spanish) Pandemic Flu Family Preparedness Plan (English) Pandemic Flu Family Preparedness Plan (Spanish) Seattle & King County Public Health Cold vs. Flu