PANDEMIC PLANNING AND RESPONSE

return to STO Pandemic Planning and Response homepage

H1N1 (Swine Flu): Federal and State Updates and Advisories

 

St. Olaf College Updates/Advisories

 

Celebration Weekend Advisory

May 11, 2009

Parents and family members will gather on campus for commencement exercises for the Class of 2009 on Sunday, May 24. Alumni and friends of the college will also be returning to the Hill for class reunions and a full weekend of festivities.

The St. Olaf pandemic planning task force has been closely monitoring the progress of the H1N1 Novel Influenza outbreak and has been in contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and the Minnesota Department of Health to determine proper procedures and precautions for protecting the campus community.

We now know that the current symptoms and recovery period of H1N1 are similar to the seasonal flu, and neither the CDC nor the Minnesota Department of Health are advocating any real changes in scheduled activities. Therefore, St. Olaf intends to proceed accordingly to plan with all commencement activities and reunion events. As with previous commencement exercises, President Anderson will warmly congratulate each graduate as they cross the stage.

As a courtesy, hand sanitizers will be available at major event locations during the weekend, and the college does ask that you observe proper health hygiene etiquette (cover your cough, wash your hands, etc.). Any individuals or family members that have advanced symptoms identified with H1N1 Novel Influenza, especially respiratory symptoms, are asked to refrain from attending any of the weekend festivities to prevent any incidental contact.

The pandemic planning task force and St. Olaf administration will continue to monitor conditions and health advisories on a daily basis. Should new developments warrant, the college will fully communicate, on this web page and elsewhere, any potential changes in the weekend’s proceedings and activities.

President Anderson's Advisory to the Campus Community

April 28, 2009

Dear Members of the St. Olaf Community:

I am writing to assure you that the College is keeping abreast of developments in the Swine Flu outbreak, to point you toward resources where you can receive the most recent expert advice on how to respond to these developments, and to recommend steps we can all take to protect our own health and the health of others.

Both the St. Olaf College Health Services and the College’s Pandemic Task Force are actively monitoring the Swine Flu outbreak in conjunction with local, state, and federal agencies. As you know from the news, this is an evolving situation, so we encourage you to make use of the resources listed below to keep informed about the outbreak. Meanwhile, we encourage everyone to act prudently and to adopt the health and hygiene practices listed below.

What is Swine Flu?

The following websites contain the most up-to-date information concerning Swine Flu.

If You Feel Sick:

1. Persons with febrile respiratory illness (i.e. fever and cough and/or sneezing) should stay home from work or school to avoid spreading infections to others in our community.

2. Patients who come to Student Health Services and are coughing will be asked to wear a mask.

Following the advice of the CDC, as of Saturday April 25, clinicians (our student health service included) will consider testing for swine flu individuals with febrile respiratory illness (fever and cough and/or sneezing), who have:

1. Recently returned from San Diego or Imperial County California, or Guadalupe Texas.

2. Traveled recently to Mexico, or were in contact with persons who had febrile respiratory illness and were in one of the three U.S. counties or Mexico during the 7 days preceding their illness onset.

As of yesterday morning, our local pharmacies have stock of the sensitive medication available to treat persons who meet the above conditions and clinical criteria. Currently there is not a vaccine available to treat this swine flu specifically.

What You Can Do to Stay Healthy:

1. Wash Your Hands. Keeping hands clean is the most important step you can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. Wash your hands with soap and clean running water for 20 seconds. If soap and clean water are not available, use an alcohol-based product to clean your hands.

2. Avoid Close Contact with people who are sick (the CDC recommends a distance of 6'). If you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.

3. Cover your Cough. Besides being polite, this is a very effective method to lessen the chance of infecting another person. Watch this short, amusing, and informative video on the proper way to cough/sneeze … (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8574515984097771637)

4. Avoid Touching your Eyes, Nose, Mouth since germs spread easily this way.

5. Careful cleaning of frequently used surfaces (doorknobs, desktops, countertops etc.) is encouraged.

6. Maintain Good Health Practices: drink plenty of water, adequate nutrition, adequate sleep, and adequate physical activity.

7. Visit http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/mitigation.htm

8. For at-home care of sick family/friend visit http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/guidance_homecare.htm

While this outbreak is unsettling, we encourage everyone to remain calm, to stay informed, to adopt prudent health practices, and to do what our community has always done best: to watch out for one another.

David Anderson '74
President