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Flu season strikes
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This year’s flu outbreak is nothing to sneeze at.
Forty-seven states, including Tennessee, have reported widespread influenza activity, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
“We are in the midst of widespread influenza activity in our area,” said McMinnville physician Dr. Todd Stewart. “It has been prevalent for about the past month. I’m still seeing new cases. Hopefully the end of the outbreak is near.”
Warren County Red Cross executive director Kathy Nesmith reminds residents it’s not too late to get a flu shot.
“The American Red Cross in Warren County is getting word there’s still a serious flu outbreak,” said Nesmith. “The Centers for Disease Control says is the worst influenza outbreak in several years in the United States. The CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone 6 months and older as the first and most important step in protecting against flu viruses.”
While the flu has been worse in Tennessee than in recent years, the state has thus far been spared from epidemic levels.
“Those of us with gray hair have seen worse,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a flu expert at Vanderbilt University. Schaffner believes it will be a moderate flu season, which may cause alarm in comparison to last year’s mild season.
Tennessee has yet to see the levels of flu activity experienced elsewhere in the country. In South Carolina, 22 people have suffered flu-related deaths. There have been 21 flu deaths reported in Indiana.
In Rhode Island, state health director Michael Fine describes the outbreak as “particularly severe” and says the state has seen an average of 180 emergency room visits a day for flu-like symptoms since Dec. 10.
The flu is not the only bug going around. Many people are experiencing a case of the common cold, the CDC says. Because these two illnesses have similar symptoms, it can be difficult to tell them apart.
Though both illnesses may cause a fever, a low-grade fever typically signifies a cold, where a high-grade fever of 102 to 104 degrees probably means you have the flu. In general, the flu is worse and symptoms are more intense.
Here are some things to consider when deciding if it’s a cold or the flu:
• COLDS – Usual symptoms include stuffy or runny nose, sore throat and sneezing. It’s unusual to have fever, chills, headaches and body aches, and if they do occur, they are mild.
• FLU – Fever is usually present, along with chills, headache and moderate-to-severe body aches and extreme tiredness. Symptoms can come on rapidly, within three to six hours. Coughs from flu are dry, and sore throats are less common.
People with colds or mild cases of the flu should get plenty of rest and fluids. Most over-the-counter cold remedies will help relieve some symptoms of both colds and flu.
Those with severe symptoms, such as a high fever or difficulty breathing, should see a doctor and may be prescribed antiviral drugs or other medications.
Prescription medications called antiviral drugs can be used to treat flu illness and help to possibly shorten the illness by one or two days. Antiviral medications are not used to treat cold viruses.
Antiviral drugs are not sold over-the-counter. You can only get them if you have a prescription from your doctor or health care provider. In order to be most effective, antiviral drugs should be started within two days of getting sick.

Local law enforcement on the lookout for distracted driving
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April is National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Distracted Driving Awareness Month and McMinnville Police Department (MPD) is on the roads to educate motorists about appropriate hands-free driving.

The amplified focus of cracking down on distracted driving is a nationwide initiative, with many states taking part. MPD Officer Mark Mara indicated the local department is increasing patrols, funded by overtime grants, to enforce and educate about Tennessee’s Hands Free Law.

“We’re trying to get people to change their habits,” Mara said. “There’s a lot of people that are distracted while driving, whether its their cell phones or not. When driving, there are already so many distractions, so having electronics in your hands while you’re driving down the road is dangerous. We need to focus on getting where we need to go and getting there safely.”

According to its records, NHTSA estimates 3,308 lives were lost in crashes involving distracted drivers in 2022 and 8% of all fatal crashes could be attributed to the same. To illustrate the point on a larger scale, it approximates over 32,000 people have died and nearly 290,000 were left injured from crashes attributed to distracted motorists between 2013 and 2022.

Violation of the Tennessee Hands Free Law is a Class C misdemeanor and traffic citations based on the violation are considered moving traffic violations. A first-time offense is typically $50 with third-time offenses and violations resulting in a crash rising to $100; citations received in a work zone while workers or present or in a marked school zone while flashes are in operation carry a penalty of $200. Three points are also added to a motorist’s driving record for each violation with 12 points leading to license suspension.

While the law specifically mentions hands in its name, it is similarly illegal to prop the phone up with any other part of their body.

“We’re going to be stopping vehicles whose operators are distracted by using their cell phones or other electronic devices,” Mara said. “It is against the law for a motorist to be holding their electronic device or having it on their body, so if you’re holding it to your ear or with your shoulder, it’s against the law all the same.”

When using GPS technology, Mara recommends investing in windshield-, vent- or dash-mounted mobile device holder to support the phone while using it for those purposes so your hands can remain on the wheel without compromising your ability to navigate to a destination.

“I understand that your cell phones are a lifeline and we get that — we use them ourselves for GPS. If you have an important phone call that’s coming in and you really need to focus on talking to that person, just pull over to the side of the road and turn on your emergency lights,” Mara said. “When you’re on a phone call, you’re not paying attention to all of the things you need to. You’re going to be concentrating on that conversation and you’re going to find yourself drifting in your lane, going through a stop sign or not stopping properly before a red light.”

Mara additionally recommended drivers sync their phones to their vehicles in models with Bluetooth capabilities and to use phone mounts that do not obstruct vision of the roadways through the windshield.

“The greatest danger of distracted driving is ending up in a crash that was absolutely avoidable, which might hurt yourself or someone else,” Mara said. “You’ve got a lot in front of you when you’re driving and a vehicle is a piece of machinery. We want all motorists to be driving safely on the roads and getting to their destinations without misadventure.”

Warnings and citations will be rendered at officers’ discretion during the increased patrols.