As a first step in managing the possible spread of swine flu, the H1N1 virus in the school system, Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh called on parents to withhold children from attending school if they presented with any cold or flu symptoms.
That call was amplified by a medic who called on parents to take their children to a doctor for examination immediately if they showed such symptoms in the face of the potential spread of the virus.
Children under age two and young people under age 19 who are on aspirin therapy are at heightened risk for infection.
H1N1 is a reassortant virus, a mix of genes from swine, bird and human flu viruses which jumped to humans from pigs and began to spread widely in April 2009.
The new virus, officially 2009 H1N1 Type A Influenza, is transmitted between humans through coughs and sneezes or contact with someone with the virus.
The virus can survive for up to 48 hours on hard, nonporous surfaces and for up to 12 hours on cloth and tissues.
There is an effective vaccination for the virus, but there is said to be a shortage of the treatment–Tamiflu is used in the nation's hospitals for anyone two weeks of age and older to resist the 2009 mutation of the influenza virus.
The Health Minister has insisted since November 2015 that th ere is no shortage of the vaccination, but some health centres reported not having a supply.
Worry about H1N1 soared dramatically when it was confirmed by the Ministry of Health that 28-year-old Anastasia Ramkissoon died in December after contracting the virus, succumbing to viral associated pneumonia.
She was the fourth person to die from complications associated with the virus from a group of 29 reported local cases of H1N1 infection in 2015.
Former Minister of Health Dr Fuad Khan went further on the issue, calling for all children to be vaccinated against the virus, but that's a particularly dramatic solution to a problem that is still at the stage where it can be managed through careful observation and common sense controls.
Dr Khan did, however, note that there is a shortage of district health visitors, a critical component in any effort at monitoring and managing potential outbreaks of the virus in the school system.
That type of training takes time, and the Government must move to back its concerns about the potential spread of H1N1 through the school system with support and appropriate briefings for schools in identifying possible vectors for spread and ensuring that supplies and personnel are available to respond to situations should they arise.
But such efforts must be tempered by good sense and restraint.
The 2009 instance of the influenza virus is only one of many viruses that are part of our continuous cohabitation on the planet with the viruses and bacteria that are an aspect of our biological subsystems.
In his Guardian column, Dr David Bratt urged the Ministry of Health to "take the lead (and) make a consensus statement about swine flu and not depend on occasional statements or articles from individual doctors."
The Health Minister has been drifting in that direction, but is yet to make a comprehensive statement about the status of H1N1 in T&T and to offer specific and detailed advice and guidelines on how potential cases about the virus are to be identified and managed.
A effective balance must be found in our management of the public understanding of this virus with an emphasis on useful concern and preparation with a minimum of needless fretting.