Via CTV Olympics.ca: Extra cops, volunteers on hand should flu hit Games. Excerpt:
An extra 750 police officers will be standing by for the 2010 Winter Games in case the H1N1 flu pandemic thins their ranks. The officers are in addition to the 6,000 being deployed at the Games.
They’ll remain at home but be ready to go at a moment’s notice, said RCMP Assistant Commissioner Bud Mercer, the head of security for the Games.
“We would bring them in on short notice for a couple of reasons,” he said in an interview Thursday.
“If the threat level changes and if we had a requirement because of illness to bring in extra staff, so that’s all part of our contingency planning.”
Mercer said the RCMP-led Integrated Security Unit has always had concerns about flu, given the close quarters their officers will be keeping during the Games, including on cruise ships.
“We have medical professionals (and) we have isolation areas that are planned in both the accommodation vessels and up in Whistler,” he said.
All of their officers will also get an educational package when they arrive for the Games on flu prevention tips and when to seek help.
Given that the Games are being held during regular flu season, the possibility for seasonal flu to have an impact has always been on the minds of Olympics planners.
The emergence of the H1N1 pandemic this year just made the potential risk from flu more apparent, said Dr. Mike Wilkinson, the director of medical services for the Olympic organizing committee.
