Lincoln County so far has had no known cases of the swine flu, but EMA Director Tim Pellerin briefed county department heads Thursday on emergency preparedness.
“The first thing I want to tell you is do not panic,” he said.
Pellerin told the officials he has been in constant contact with the Maine Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Maine Emergency Management Agency and the county EMA has been conducting a controlled response in the event of a pandemic flu outbreak here.
“My intent this morning is to provide communication about the high level alert without panicking,” he said. “It is important to keep it in perspective.”
Pellerin said Dr. Dora Mills of the state CDC compared it to a blizzard forecast.
“You don’t know where it is going to strike,” he said. “You could have a whole lot of snow or it could go out to sea.”
Pellerin’s briefing followed a conference call with Governor John Baldacci on Wednesday this week advising people about good hygiene. Pellerin himself said people should stay home from work for 10 days if they contract the disease officials now refer to as the H1N1 virus instead of the swine flu.