PREPARATIONS have been made to deal with widespread panic across Essex if swine flu escalates, an emergency report shows.

The county’s influenza pandemic contingency plan shows officials are braced to deal with a major public order threat if, as predicted, there is a surge in the spread of the disease in the autumn.

Drawn up by the Essex Resilience Board, the plan predicts what would happen in the event of a severe flu outbreak, claiming thousands of lives in north Essex.

It says public reaction to a full-blown health crisis would be broken down into six phases, the last of which is dubbed “panic stations”.

The authors believe fear would trigger “behaviour changes, rumours and scaremongering” as people rounded on neighbours who they believed were carrying germs.

They expect to see “ruthless creativity” used to circumvent the system and get hold of vaccine drugs ahead of others in greater need.

The report says publicity issued through the press should be used to “stigmatise” people who try to jump the queue or refuse to be vaccinated, by stressing that they are placing others at risk.

Bosses would also try to calm fears by issuing regular updates on what was being done to contain the pandemic.

The report says, in a scenario where 50 per cent of the population had flu, it would become more likely that some people would die without having seen a doctor.

That would increase the importance of coroners’ role in verifying that there were no suspicious circumstances, so police would be asked to supply more coroners’ officers.

l MORE than 1, 000 antiviral medicines for swine flu have been collected in Mid Essex.

During the first week of the National Pandemic Flu Service, 1, 386 antivirals were given out at the three collection points, which includes one at St Michael’s Hospital, in Rayne Road, Braintree.