SIRQ - Self-Imposed Reverse Quarantine (Part 1)

Originally posted on The ReadyStore Blog

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SIRQ - Self-Imposed Reverse Quarantine

OK, so I wanted to talk a little bit about pandemic flu. The flu happens every year. Because some people have immunity to various strains of the flu, it doesn’t infect everyone. But a pandemic flu is a worldwide epidemic. Virtually no one in the world is immune to pandemic viruses, meaning that many more people become ill and die during a pandemic than during a yearly outbreak of the flu.

Pandemics occur about three times every century and we are due for one. Pandemics are a naturally occurring phenomenon and there is little we can do to prevent one. But we can take steps once we know a pandemic is out there to protect ourselves and our loved ones.

The way it will happen is that the CDC will make an announcement that pandemic flu has been confirmed in the United States. At this point, the flu is already out there. Estimates are that it took only a couple weeks for the Spanish flu of 1918 to spread across the country and we are obviously much more mobile that in 1918. Scientists cannot even predict how quickly a pandemic would spread.

Your best strategy for staying healthy is SIRQ which stands for self-imposed reverse quarantine. During a quarantine, ill people are separated from the healthy population, but in a reverse quarantine, the healthy are quarantined. The government may take action such as closing schools and church meetings as well as large public gatherings. Once the news is out that a pandemic flu is in the country, it is too late to go grab a few gallons of milk or run to the store to stock up on toilet paper. You need to be able to stay in your home with no contact with others for about 3 months.

Tomorrow we will focus on what we can do to prepare for a pandemic and the consequences of one.