A possible pandemic spreads across the globe. Media coverage blasts through the airwaves, while the Internet swarms with panic and misinformation. People look to their governments to provide solutions and restore order. So what do those governments do? Well, some are handling it ably, and the World Health Organization has sprung into effective action. Others, well, their actions range from merely pointless to ludicrously tragic. Here are the five worst government actions in response to the swine flu outbreak.
5. Banning Cheek Kissing As of this week, no swine flu cases have been reported in Lebanon. But that didn't stop the country's Health Minister, Mohammad Khalifeh, from announcing on Tuesday, April 28, that all Lebanese people should eschew the national custom of kissing on the cheek as a greeting. "If you visit someone, don't exchange kisses... Let's stop the social kissing habit," Khalifeh said in a press conference. Sure, it's a move on the right track—the virus, which lives in liquid particles like saliva, can be spread by any person-to-person contact, including kissing. But in the bigger picture, putting the kibosh on cheek smooching won’t do a thing when you’re on a bus or train full of coughing, sneezing masses of infection.
