Obama administration declares national emergency due to Swine Flu

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Obama administration declares national emergency due to Swine Flu

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Story Created: Oct 24, 2009 at 1:39 PM EST

Story Updated: Oct 24, 2009 at 5:50 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is making what
administration officials are describing as a preemptive move against the swine flu.

Obama is declaring the pandemic a national emergency, in an effort to speed treatment to thousands of infected people. Administration officials say the effort is designed to make decisions easier when they need to be made.

The declaration authorizes Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to bypass federal rules when opening off-site hospital centers.

And hospitals could change patient rules to allow them faster access to treatment, with government approval.

Obama says the months-old outbreak which has killed more than 1,000 in the U.S. continues to evolve. And, with the rates of illness rising rapidly, he says there's a potential to "overburden health care resources."

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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