H1N1/2

i remember the last time there was a H1N1 scare in mumbai. it was the week that ended on 14th august 2009. there were reminder emails being sent out requesting people to stay at home if they showed any sort of flu symptoms, we had hand sanitizers kept ready, face masks were made available on request, etc. i stopped all contact with doors, etc (yesh, i was actually pushing doors open with my foot, and using napkins to touch doorknobs etc)

everyone in my office was sneezing and coughing. a small fraction of them stayed at home too.

even the normally nonchalant working mumbai junta were wearing face masks or poorly draped handkerchiefs UNDER their helmets and inside their air conditioned cars on the roads.

i survived the week without a sneeze or a cough or a face mask.

we then had independence day on the 15th, and people (not me, i was busy drinking away my birthday :D) gathered in large numbers for flag hoisting, parades etc, despite all logic that said it's best to stay away from crowded places. and the next monday, everyone i saw was fit as a fiddle. not a mask in sight, on the roads even!

a couple of days ago, we all got another reminder email that H1N1 flu is spreading in the northern hemisphere.

everyone in my office is sneezing and coughing. few people are staying home too.

i have a bad cold, a sore throat, and a mild fever.

i think we'll need a national celebration this weekend.