To quote Porky the Pig's famous words: "Th, Th, The that's all folks!"
That's right. Swine flu came, people freaked out, we had a handful of cases in Long Beach, the city declared a local health emergency, and now on Tuesday, the City Council is expected to vote to terminate the emergency.
Long Beach's health officer, Dr. Helene Calvet, is asking the council to end the health emergency that was put in place two weeks ago. Although Calvet tells me that some swine flu cases are still expected to arise, Health Department officials are only testing for swine flu in the sickest of patients. The health emergency allowed the city to seek state assistance if needed and get possible reimbursements for the extra expenses of dealing with the swine flu.
Other parts of the country haven't been as lucky, with New York suffering its first swine flu death last week -- a high school assistant principal. Overall, the number of deaths worldwide
-- 76 -- is pretty small for a feared pandemic. Read all about that here.
Paul Eakins reports on Long Beach City Hall, and local and regional
politics. A newcomer to the Press-
Kris Hanson reports on the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles,
covering environmental issues, economic triumphs and
pitfalls and trade trends of America’s largest port.
He also writes a weekly column “On The Waterfront”,
appearing Tuesdays, and also produces an occassional video
and column titled “On The Job,” which follows the hard-working
men and women who keep Southern California’s economy humming.
Karen Robes Meeks came to work for the Press-
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