Lucky us – it’s that time of year for all of us to look toward the flu season – and this year, the CDC is telling us that we can expect to see a flu pandemic. A new pandemic virus can spread easily from one person to another, mostly by sneezing and coughing. When someone who is sick with a flu virus, and they sneeze or cough near you, you can then breath in droplets in the air that have the flu virus. Those virus droplets can also land on surfaces that you may touch with your hands.

To help in the keeping yourself, your family, and co-workers safe from any flu virus – keep the following in mind: Wash your hands often with soap and water, and if soap and water are not around – use a alcohol based hand gel. Always remember to cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze and cough, and you should sneeze and cough into your sleeve not your hands, this is if a tissue is not available. Limit contact around others that might have the flu virus will slow down the spread of the virus. Being around others makes you more likely to get sick and make others sick. If you do get sick with the flu, stay home, this means STAY HOME, don’t leave your house, have someone else go to the store and run errands for you. Even going to your doctor can spread the flu virus, so if you really don’t need to see your doctor – then don’t. Ask your boss about options for working from home if you can, until you feel better.

A flu pandemic is something none of us really want to deal with, so let’s all do our part to help prevent a flu pandemic, and keep ourselves, family and co-workers healthy and safe!

Thanks,

Leonard Kessner
Safety Director