Well the swine flu arrived at Western Oregon University. They have closed the school through Monday when the test results are due. Apparently an off campus student tested positive for Influenza A and they sent samples (I'm assuming blood samples) to the CDC to test for swine flu. In the meantime we have a four day weekend.
I learned about the closure Thursday night when I was at a concert with my friend Danielle. Another friend left a voice mail for me. I stepped out to listen and when I came back in, everyone in the cafe knew about it too. The school was making calls to all the students
They were encouraging us to stay on campus and not to leave Monmouth. Some people were panicking and saying that the police were blocking the roads out of Monmouth and Independence, which was not true. They were only blocking one road and that was because there had been a fatal car accident. But we definitely did not want to stick around because we both live in dorms where there are communal bathrooms and showers. We were more likely to be exposed if we stayed, so we are staying at Bryce's Dad's for the weekend.
If we weren't in college we would be totally celebrating the 4-day weekend, but we're actually concerned about the amount of time that is being lost. I particularly sympathize with the people who are actually graduating at the end of this term, they must be sweating bullets worrying about not being able to finish in June. But I'm jumping ahead, we'll just have to see what develops.
In the meantime we continue to take all common sense precautions...like washing our hands frequently...lol.
