A couple of weeks ago there was a discussion of closing schools in response to the threat of H1N1 Influenze ("Swine Flu"). I suggested that closing the NY City schools would be counterproductive, as the kids would just find someplace else to hang out together, while making it impossible for parents to get any work done.

About a dozen schools in NYC are currently closed due to flu scares - the aparently well loved assistant principal of one of them recently died of the disease. Every morning the news radio interviews hysterical parents calling on the city to close the schools out of caution, and absenteeism is currently quite high.

And yet, according the the NY Times, here is what happens when the schools close:

Flu Closings Fail To Keep Children At Home

It seems to me that if it is serious enough to close the schools, then the kids need to stay home (I personally think these closings are an over reaction, but I don't have a kid in a school with lots of sick kids. Maybe I'd feel differently if I did). I suspect that the flu is much more likely to spread, however, from people like the man sitting across from me on the train last night, who was continually coughing without covering his mouth in any way. I moved away from him, and got thumbs up from several other passengers as I did.

Cutting the spread of disease is very much about personal responsibility and actions. If you're sick, stay home. If you're likely to become sick, because you've been around others who are actively sick, you should probably stay home too. And if you don't stay home, please don't cough all over me on the train!