Twenty-one Milwaukee schools and one daycare center are closed this week as school officials react to growing cases of the H1N1 flu (aka swine flu) in the city.  Houston is also facing multiple school closures.

The closures obviously put a burden on families. With officials asking students not to congregate outside of school, one wonders how many parents are throwing caution to the wind and arranging childcare pools this week.

I’ll watch Evan, Susie, Lisa and Sam on Monday if you can take them Tuesday…and so on.

Are the area’s business offices prepared to operate during wide-spread school closures? Again, telecommuting offers one logical response, keeping many business offices operational as schools close and as employee themselves begin to present symptoms.

U.S. business went through a surge in disaster planning following the SARS outbreak in 2003. This recent outbreak is a chance for some companies to test those plans, and a reminder for others to develop contingency strategies.

Disaster planning is certainly not limited to flu pandemics. Telework tools help maintain productivity in the face of snowstorms, floods and other natural disasters.

Posted by Jaime