U to implement swine flu response plans

The University of Minnesota will be implementing early phases of a response to swine flu, which was declared a federal health emergency Sunday, according to an administrative e-mail received by the Daily.
Currently, any response plans should not impact University operations, the e-mail from Vice President for University Services Kathleen O’ Brien and School of Public Health Dean John Finnegan states. The University’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy will be involved in planning, along with emergency management personnel and other health workers.
News reports list the number of people affected by swine flu in the United States at about 20. No deaths have been reported, and the flu has not formally been labeled a pandemic.