hospitals preparing for a influx of patients with flu like symptoms, emergency departments set up separate areas to handle patients with possible cases of the h1n1 virus. cheryl conner shows us the new wing at one local hospital. reporter: a new facility opened a at the university of maryland medical center. doctors expect it will be full of patients in the coming weeks. we set up a separate triage to sort out the problems the patients come in and give us symptoms and we can figure out where they should go. reporter: idea is to segregate of the h1n1 virus to sort out symptoms and prevent it from spreading. there has been a sharp increase in number of patients with the flu. so far the volume is not overcrowding the medical center. this is to protect other patients from the disease. reporter: hospitals in the area are looking ahead. there are frequent conversations going on looking at what to do if facilities are at capacity. while i can t predict how we will re
partly because there s been a lot of influenza and people are very well aware of the situation, partly because there s been a lot of media coverage that has led to increased concerns. reporter: concerns from mothers like jennifer ford, who was vaccinated because she s a health professional but already bumped up the doctor s visit for her children before it s too late. i think, did i schedule them too late, should have i done it sooner? yeah, i m vaccinated, so is mylous but the husband but the kids haven t yet. you re hoping they are still available. they better be. reporter: in the meantime, and between shipments of the standard flu vaccine, it is all about washing hands and wearing masks. in baltimore county, brian kuebler, abc2 news. brian checked with several pharmacies and clinics in our area, many are waiting for the next shipment which could take a couple weeks. the flu vaccine may not be the only thing in short supply with the possible swine flu pa
the economy billions. hurting small businesses in particular. as abc2 news roosevelt leftwich tells us businesses are gearing up to make sure they can stay hope. this was available. reporter: two locations to serve you, fred s stores are open seven days a week, 12 hours a someday. he can t afford to be sick but today he is. coughing, sore throat, neck aching, back. ears. head. sweating. reporter: at fred s east side store his father is pitching in since he couldn t be there. with six employees to lose even one makes it difficult. closing a store for the day because of the flu means the bottom line steaks a hit takes a hit. in a small business you can t really afford to close any days realistically. it s definitely taking its toll. reporter: federal estimates put the economic loss to the u.s. economy between $50 billion to $100 billion as h1n1 reaches a pandemic level. that would equate to 2% to 5% drop in revenue caused by employee absenteeism. imagine, say, fou
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