Santa Swine Flu
December 11th, 2009 by flanewsKids across the state are standing in line for a chance to see Santa Claus and make their Christmas wish list official. But while they ask Santa for gifts, they may be giving him a little unwelcome present, their germs. As Whitney Ray tells us, Santa�s taking extra precautions to keep from catching swine flu.
Seven year-old Malcolm and his friends are letting Santa Claus know what they expect to see under the Christmas tree.
�I want a BB Gun,� said Malcolm. His Friend Caleb is asking for a Wii.
The kids will stay on the nice list, as long none of them gave Santa the Swine Flu. All the hugs and handshakes have Santa a little germ-a-phobic this holiday season. 50 million Americans have already contracted the H1N1 virus.
�It�s very important for parents of children who are sick to keep those sick children at home. To not expose them to other children in line waiting to see Santa,� said Susan Smith, a spokesman for The Florida Department of Health.
Parents taking their kids to give their wish list to Santa Claus may want to give them an early Christmas present; hand sanitizer, and for those who didn�t bring their own, �each child was given hand sanitizer, and that was a good thing. And it was so discrete. It was done so discreetly and that was a good thing,� said Ruby Barr, the boys� chaperone.
And Santa even keeps an extra bottle on the fence in his winter wonderland. Santa was too busy keeping up with who�s been naughty or nice to talk on camera, but tells us he�s already received both of his flu shots and expects to be healthy for his trip around the globe.
Since May, 180 Floridians have died of swine flu. 10-thousand have died nationwide. Although the virus has slowed, experts say a second wave is expected before flu seasons ends. Florida hasn�t been hit as hard of other states, but the peak of flu season in Florida comes in February, a little later than in colder states.
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