British authorities were waiting for a corona-like epidemic in 1997!
Secret documents declassified in Britain show that Northern Irish authorities had predicted an outbreak of the Far East years before the global corona outbreak and had drawn up a precautionary plan to deal with it.
According to recently declassified documents, senior British health officials believed that an outbreak was imminent in 1997 and devised a precautionary plan that included a comprehensive vaccination program and border closures.
According to the British newspaper The Guardian, newly released documents show that authorities expected a pandemic of the flu to emerge from the Far East and devised a nationwide plan in the UK to deal with the crisis.
In March 1997, the Northern Ireland Department of Health, Welfare and Public Safety approved the outbreak for the pandemic, which included regulations to close schools.
According to the British newspaper, the plan stated: At the same time, the following conditions indicate that an epidemic is imminent – the emergence of a new strain of influenza virus with a specific antigenic change – a new virus; The high proportion of susceptible individuals in the population means that they are not immune to the new virus, either through vaccination or through previous infection with a similar virus; Evidence that the new virus could spread and cause human disease.
“Usually, new altered strains of influenza virus have emerged in the Far East and spread to Europe via Asia or the corresponding geographical areas,” the document added. If this happens, there may be some warnings before a new strain appears in the UK, although the spread may be very rapid.
The document predicts that any influenza of Chinese origin is likely to spread faster than the previous epidemic of 1968 due to “China opening up for trade and tourism” and “increasing international mobility and greater use of fast-moving methods.”
To prepare for the outbreak in the event of an outbreak, Dr. Elizabeth Mitchell, then Northern Ireland Medical Officer, drafted a precautionary plan for the area in December 1997 to assist local health services in drafting the arrangements.
