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Panasonic Orders Expat Families Home on Concern of

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dennis2 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dennis2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Panasonic Orders Expat Families Home on Concern of
    Posted: February 09 2009 at 8:51pm
Panasonic Orders Expat Families Home on Concern of Flu Pandemic

Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) --  Panasonic Corp., the world's largest maker of consumer electronics, told Japanese employees in several emerging markets to send their families back to Japan on mounting concern about a potential influenza pandemic.

The company in December instructed staff assigned to parts of Asia, Africa, eastern Europe and South America to repatriate their families by September, Akira Kadota, a spokesman for Osaka- based Panasonic, said by telephone today. He declined to comment on the number of households affected.

Panasonic, which said last week it will cut about 15,000 jobs and report a loss this year, may be the first major company to order families home on concern people wouldn't receive needed health care in case of a widespread flu outbreak. A pandemic could kill 71 million people worldwide and lead to a "major global recession" costing more than $3 trillion, according to a worst-case scenario outlined by the World Bank in October.

"This is part of our preparations for a new type of influenza," Kadota said by telephone. "We chose areas after considering the prevalence of bird flu, and the capability of medical facilities and access to them.”

The world is closer to another influenza pandemic than at any time since 1968, when the last of the previous century's three pandemics occurred, according to the WHO.

International health officials have been monitoring the H5N1 strain of avian influenza for more than a decade for signs it could mutate into a form that is easily spread between humans. H5N1 has infected at least 406 people in 15 countries since 2003, killing 63 percent of them, according to the Web site of the World Health Organization.

More than half of Panasonic's 209 subsidiaries outside Japan as of April 2008 were located in the Asia-Pacific region. The Nikkei newspaper reported Panasonic's plans earlier.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kanoko Matsuyama in Tokyo at kmatsuyama2@****.net.

Last Updated: February 9, 2009 22:05 EST
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dennis2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 09 2009 at 8:57pm
By the way, I do not wish to get in trouble with Albert about mentioning some other flu site - but one site has had a memeber call Panasonic.
The informations was that they are looking at a Sept. timeline for getting families back (not the employees) so that they can pull out employees faster if needed and that there were not be family complications later. The have no special knowledge about the pandemic but doubt worry out the medical support in some countries.
after all is said and done- more is said than done
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jacksdad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 09 2009 at 9:20pm

Wow. Very interesting article - good find.

"Buy it cheap. Stack it deep"
"Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ro2935 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2009 at 2:35am

Similar story but reported by yahoo

Panasonic to fly home workers' families over bird flu fears

Tuesday, February 10

Panasonic Corp. has ordered Japanese employees in some foreign countries to send their families home to Japan in preparation for a possible bird flu pandemic, a spokesman said Tuesday.

Family members of Japanese employees in parts of Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Russia, former Soviet states and Latin America will fly back to Japan by the end of September, Panasonic spokesman Akira Kadota said.

The firm decided to take the rare measure "well ahead of possible confusion at the outbreak of a global pandemic," he said.

Eight people have contracted the H5N1 bird flu virus in China alone this year -- five of whom died.

"The bird flu cases reported so far are infections from bird to human, but once an infection between human beings is reported, things can get chaotic with many other companies trying to bring back their employees," Kadota said.

"We wanted to take action early before it gets difficult to book flight tickets," he said.

The company did not say how many family members would return to Japan. Employees and their families in North America, Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore will not be affected.

The H5N1 strain of the virus that is most dangerous to humans first emerged in Asia in 2003 and has since caused nearly 250 deaths, according to World Health Organisation figures.

Bird flu, or avian influenza, kills mainly birds but scientists fear it could mutate to jump from human to human, sparking a global pandemic.

Panasonic said last week it was cutting 15,000 jobs and closing dozens of plants worldwide as it braces to fall deep in the red due to the global economic crisis.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Albert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2009 at 6:41am
Originally posted by dennis2 dennis2 wrote:

The company in December instructed staff assigned to parts of Asia, Africa, eastern Europe and South America to repatriate their families by September, Akira Kadota, a spokesman for Osaka- based Panasonic, said by telephone today. 
 
Those Japanese are pretty sharp, and I'm inclined to take this as a sign that next winter could be it.   If the Japanese think a Panflu will hit sometime after next September, then they have probably learned something that they feel fairly sure about.   A sizeable advanced notice like this should probably not be squandered.   I'm putting my chips in with Japanese on this gamble, and I'm going to assume the worst for next winter, but I'm also somewhat of a gambler by nature, lol.   Come next August, people may want to consider stocking up once again, or doing it over the next 6 months.      
 
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jacksdad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2009 at 8:44am
Albert - I've already started to bulk up my preps after reading that. Bought another 25lbs of beans today and I'll be rotating my medical preps in the next few weeks/months. I think you're right. False alarm or not, we should pay attention to this one. For a major corporation to do this, something's potentially in the pipeline. Just hope they're wrong.
"Buy it cheap. Stack it deep"
"Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2009 at 8:48am
It would be interesting to know if Panasonic will be retaining these employees in the present economic condition... another reason to bring them home.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote roni3470 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2009 at 10:05am
I have to say, of all the articles coming out, this one is the most disturbing I read....they are a huge company that knows the media coverage they will generate from a move like this.  I also think Albert is right that the Japanese don't cry wolf really and know their ****...this is super scary!
NOW is the Season to Know
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2009 at 1:39pm

People aren't dying from H2H... The virus is mainly still in infected birds that people are handling...or in bird doo...A lot of companies are downsizing in the current market.  Now if 20 foreign based companies were sending people home...

that might be more "super scary"

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Albert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2009 at 2:01pm
Originally posted by Mary08 Mary08 wrote:

...A lot of companies are downsizing in the current market.  Now if 20 foreign based companies were sending people home...

If you are implying that they are doing this because of the economy, and they don't want to admit it, I don't believe that's the case.   Although the virus is not currently h2h, the Japanese are clearly gambling that the virus will make the jump to h2h by next winter.  The Japanese are good with their money, and you just simply need to follow the trail in this case.  Now, whether they' re correct is another story.   Like I said, I'm leaning toward betting with the Japanese on this one.    
 
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote abcdefg Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2009 at 3:28pm
I agree with Albert. Better safe then sorry. It may also put the pressure on the medical community to move things along. It may also make those who have become complacent to wake up.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Albert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2009 at 4:21pm
A little business sense tells us that Panasonic is not using a panflu as a scapegoat for downsizing.  First, they're not downsizing, and this has nothing to do with layoffs.  In fact, this maneuver is going to cost Panasonic quite a bit of money.  So why would they spend all of this extra money while the economy is in such bad shape?   If people think this is going to somehow save them money, it's actually the opposite.  
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2009 at 5:35pm
  • Panasonic also will shutter 14 overseas plants and 13 plants in Japan by the end of ... all post big decline · Obama loses 2 Cabinet picks to tax troubles ...
    www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090204/API/902040558&template=apart - 36k - Cached - Similar pages

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    Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Littleraven Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2009 at 5:54pm
    I agree with Albert on this one.  I believe they are playing their inside card and better safe than sorry. Just a bit of good old horse sense or something a little more in the know?  I have a friend on mainland China and he says that it is gradually heating up a bit, not just there but nearby countries.  Not anything that anyone in that part of the world would put out in the media of course but Japan may be seriously bracing for some concerns where Bird Flu is concerned.  I think Albert is right, the Japanese are careful people and they watch their money.
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    Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jacksdad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2009 at 9:13pm
      I've been thinking about this all day, and really I think it's a big deal. Obviously someone at the company has an inside track with regards BF information (maybe something we're not as yet privy to that's taking place in China) and it was compelling enough that a huge multinational company is acting on it immediately. As Albert pointed out, if Panasonic is making this a requirement then they're probably footing the bill as well so it's costing them quite a bit of cash to do this. I don't believe it's a downsizing tactic.
    "Buy it cheap. Stack it deep"
    "Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.
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    Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2009 at 10:18pm
     
    hi... I don't see any chatter over there to indicate that something major is up. 
     
    There are 13 Panasonic plants closing in Japan... economies are bad the world over. 
     
    Closing your plants due to a sharp economic downturn is not a tactic, it's reality.
     
    They are talking about the same things we do...what's happening in China.  They talk
     
    about how to wear a mask and here is a list they show...
     
    Stockpile list

      Stockpile list
    ○ American staple food (rice gruel for retort packed rice-rinsed rice alpha)
    ○切RI餅(vacuum-packed back Wednesday)
    ○ rehydratable noodle (udon noodles like spaghetti noodles, etc.)
    ○ cereal and serial
    ○ crackers
    ○ Long-life bread
    ○ foods retort food (a bowl of Miso soup curry)
    ○ freeze-dried food (soup and egg)
    ○ juice (fruit juice vegetable juice)
    ○ Frozen Foods (※ The case of a power outage, will not be saved)
    ○ canned (meat, fish, fruits, bean)
    ○ margarine and butter jam
    ○ dry matter (daikon and seaweed laver切干)
    ○ noodles
    Other water ○ sweet food (biscuits and chocolate caramel candy)
    ○ seasonings (soy sauce sugar and salt soup noodles)
    ○ Sports drinks (PET bottles in powder form)
    ○ adjust food nutrition (supplements) energy drink jelly
    ○ baby food (※ good digestion, the patient bite)
    ○ milk powder (※ Families with infants, you can have a lot)
    ○ Long-life milk (※ milk with long-term storage at room temperature) skim milk (in powder form)
    ○ water (※ consider the possibility of cuts in water supply, one person per day 3 ℓ × family size for × 2 ~ 3 days)
    ○ fondu
    ○ pharmaceutical medicine (a headache diarrhea gastrointestinal drugs, drugs for chronic disease) (※ Note the contents of the drugs that are prescribed in chronic disease hospitals)
    ○ antipyretic analgesic (※ fever flu in children under the age of 15 in the acetaminophen ○,
    Aspirin - salicylic acid - the system ×)
    ○ mask (highly sensitive to the virus through difficult material. Preparation of the extra disposable)
    ○ disposable gloves, rubber gloves (not torn) (※ Disposable gloves are available in department care.
    Rubber gloves are used repeatedly, each time a need to sterilize)
    ○ mouthwash
    ○ drug for nasal irrigation
    ○ thermometer
    ○ agent refrigerated ice cap water cushion
    ○ disposable bedpan Cairo
    ○ household chlorine bleach for disinfection and ethanol (oxygen bleach system is not effective for disinfection × [])
    ○ Hand washing soap (※ soap is so solid that adheres to the surface of bacteria or virus, the liquid ○)
    ○ goggles (※ To prevent infections from the lining of the eye)
    ○ plaster
    ○ cotton gauze
    ○ daily plastic bag (※ tissues with a patient, disposable mask, and sealed with a clean cloth and disinfectant
    To abandon)
    ○ sealed container with a lid (※ saliva and excrement, which had been contaminated with the virus, including runny nose
    To abandon the sealed)
    ○ flashlight batteries
    ○ kit mobile phone charger (battery-operated)
    ○ hand generator
    ○ Radio (※ When the electricity stops, to get out the information on your PC or TV)
    ○ cassette gas stove (※ equipped to stop the gas supply)
    ○ Kleenex toilet paper
    ○ kitchen wrap
    ○ foil
    ○ detergent (for dish clothes)
    Tissue moisturizing ○
    ○ diapers sanitary items (as needed for the baby for the elderly and women)
    ○ pet food (※ keep the family pet)
    ○ Emergency contact list


    ● Tips for reasonable reserves
    迫TTARA period of food consumption, with the usual meal and snack, to buy further.
    One way to buy a stockpile of goods for business use


    Page Top ↑


    Do you know the correct method of hand washing?

    http://www.city.saga.lg.jp/contents.jsp?id=17058
     
     
    ...........
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    Albert View Drop Down
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    Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Albert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 11 2009 at 12:44am
    Mary, you may want to read the article again.   It has nothing to do with layoffs and downsizing, and plants closing.  Are we reading the same story here??   Again, I really don't think this is a cover-up for job lay offs, which would be really strange, lol.   It can be difficult to sometimes separate the current econominc news, with other news, especially since the economy tends to be the main story these days.  It's also important to remember that not everything is a cover-up.    
     
    Those other flu sites pump so many lies into the translations that people have no idea what to believe.   
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    Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote coyote Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 11 2009 at 2:54am
    WHO perplexed by Panasonic's move
    WHO perplexed by Panasonic's move to repatriate staff families over flu fears
    Feb 10 02:26 PM US/Eastern 

    A plan by Panasonic Corp. to repatriate families of overseas employees because of fears of a flu pandemic drew a perplexed reaction from the World Health Organization on Tuesday.

    WHO spokesperson Gregory Hartl said there is no evidence that the risk of a pandemic caused by the H5N1 avian flu virus is any higher now than it was last year or the year before.

    "There's been no change in the way that the virus is behaving," Hartl said from Geneva.

    "So there's really no reason for anyone all of a sudden to take such actions. Because today is no different from yesterday."

    Panasonic Corp. said Tuesday it has ordered families of its Japanese overseas employees to return home from countries or regions where the company believes there may be a pandemic risk. The orders were issued in December but families have until September to return to Japan.

    Company spokesman Akira Kadota said employees will stay put, but families of those working in China, Asia (excluding Singapore), the Middle East, Africa, Russia and South America are to return to Japan.

    more at link
    http://www.breitba..
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    Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Loribearme Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 11 2009 at 4:31am
    I believe that someone very wealthy and high up there knows something that has been kept hidden from the public.   Possibly that there has been h2h --who knows?  but for them to announce such a thing means serious business.    Something very bad is going down over there and we should keep a close eye on this and airports around the country will be preparing for chaos.
     
    Everyone should stock up on food now - the time clock is ticking - (can't you hear it)
     
     
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    Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Albert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 11 2009 at 5:28am
    Originally posted by coyote coyote wrote:


    "There's been no change in the way that the virus is behaving," Hartl said from Geneva.
     
    We could have guessed that nothing has most likely changed in the virus, although, there is one factor that does in fact keep changing, which it "time", or the "timeline".   Time keeps passing, and in theory, we're becoming more and more over due.  In 2005, a lot of people were guessing that a panflu would hit within approximately 5 years given the average and frequency that panflus occur.  Based on history, we are overdue and perhaps Panasonic realizes that based on their own "panflu modeling".  Many countries have their own Panflu Models and predictions and each year that passes, we could in fact be getting closer.   If the WHO feels the virus will change very slowly and they can detect the changes as rapidly as they happen, then why do the culling?  
     
    Panasonic could be gambling on the amount of time that has now elapsed as a tool in gaging their prediction.  If the WHO is waiting for the virus to change before acting, they will be in the middle of a panflu by the time they detect "the change".   The WHO is awfully arrogant to think there can't be a panflu without them knowing first. 
     
     
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