Safe-D Begins with Me!

As I sit here sick, tired and dreading my Pop Culture final (the paper I wrote on Disney movies got shot down and burned to the ground), I can't help but think how people get so overworked over the Swine Flu epidemic but will still go to the theme parks.

I heard from one of my friends working down there now that people are walking around the parks with masks on to not catch any symptoms of the swine flu. To me, that's utterly ridiculous.

You would think that if you'd spent so much money to go to a theme park that you'd focus more on the experience.

I got this from StitchKingdom:

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Mickey Mouse, Pluto, the Fairy Godmother and other Walt Disney favorites were still dishing out kisses, handshakes and high-fives
at the Magic Kingdom on Thursday, despite the flu virus alert gripping the
United States.

At the world famous Florida theme park, which is run by Walt Disney Co and visited by millions each year, enthusiastic crowds filled the avenues and rides, apparently unworried by the warnings of a possible pandemic of a new strain of influenza A (H1N1) virus.

The United States has declared a health emergency and in Mexico, where up to 176 people have died following the outbreak there of the virus originally termed ?swine flu, the government has ordered a five-day partial shutdown of nonessential government offices and businesses. The Mexican Health Ministry also warned people against touching or kissing while greeting each other.

Authorities in the United States, who have reported 109 confirmed swine flu infections but only one death, are recommending that people sick with flu symptoms seek treatment and stay home. Florida is testing a number of suspected cases.

At the Magic Kingdom on Thursday, one mother pressed her baby?s face into the costumed character Pluto's furry snout for a kiss. Other youngsters continued to snuggle up to various other Disney characters and share high-fives, while fidgety kids slid their hands along the rope lines while waiting to get on the rides.

Among the crowds were the Jansens from Amsterdam in the Netherlands. They said they were not worried about bringing their 2-year-old and 7-year-old children to the Magic Kingdom.

There's no concern for us. We always go to the big public places with the kids, said Ed Jansen. Just like any Dutch man or Dutch woman, we have both feet on the floor. We're not a panicked people.

Coordinating the international campaign against the new flu virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) has its current alert level just one notch below a full pandemic.

Despite some official fears that crowded venues could increase contagion risk, there were no visible extraordinary precautionary measures in place at Disney?s Magic Kingdom.

Trash sweepers, as usual, swept up bits of garbage almost before they touched ground, but they did not appear to be doing any extra disinfecting or unusual
cleaning.

I have strepp throat right now (not swine flu), and I'm trying to get better so that I can enjoy my experience during the summer. But just because I'm trying to get better, it dosen't mean that as soon as I get down there I'm going to be extremely health conscious every moment while I'm on my program. I've seen custodial do their job and they know what they're doing and they teach us to wash our hands and be health safe while on the job.

So unless the Swine Flu epdemic gets so bad that they have to shut down the theme park (which won't happen - God forbid it does), I'm not going to worry or be extremely health concious...cause remember:

"Safe-D Begins With Me!"