Preparing your Household

There are several things householders should do in preparation for an outbreak of influenza:

  • Have plans in place in case you and your family have to stay at home for a week or so during an outbreak. Talk to your family and friends about your plans.
  • If you live alone, are a single parent of young children, or are the only person caring for a frail or disabled person, think of someone you could ask for help if you became very ill with the flu. Discuss with that person what you might need and how they could help.
  • Think of someone who might be able to care for your children if their school or day-care centre was to close during an outbreak but you still had to go to work. Talk it over with the person.
  • Arrange a telephone network for you and the people who live close by so that you can easily check on each other, if necessary. You can use the template in this fact sheet.
  • Display the phone number of your family doctor and your state or territory health information line, where they can easily be seen.
  • Think of someone who could help you with food and other supplies if you and your family were sick and could not leave the house.
  • Teach children about hand washing and sneeze/cough etiquette.
  • Think about supplies you might need in an outbreak, as you may not be able to go to shops if ill. (You can use the table in this fact sheet to record and display important numbers)

More detail:

The Australian Government has developed a household emergency survival kit checklist entitled Preparing for the Unexpected (at www.ema.gov.au). The Australian food and grocery sector has prepared an emergency pantry list for households (at www.pantrylist.com.au).

More detail on www.healthemergency.gov.au:

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