So, the Swedish national football team were instructed not to shake hands with the Maltese players and not to exchange shirts. The reason, we have found out, is that it was a preventive measure against contracting the (A)H1N1 flu virus. One must say, the instructions were ridiculous and bordering on the insulting.

Let us put it into perspective. The Swedish team presumably checked in at an airport, a place where thousands of people mingle, coins are exchanged, boarding passes are exchanged, passports are exchanged and everyone breathes in recycled air.

From there, the team boarded a plane - and proceed to breathe more recycled air on the four-hour or so long trip to Malta.

After that, they land in Malta, handle their luggage, get on a coach and are taken to a hotel. There they further mingle with people and have physical contact.

The match comes around, players sweat, they rub up against each other, sweat from one person makes it into the eyes and mouth of another, players spit on the turf, blood may even have been transmitted in a tackle that causes a graze...anyone who has played football (or merely watches a game) can see that it is a normal thing and part and parcel of any game.

After the whole series of events, the Swedes were reluctant to shake hands or exchange shirts. If this is not an example of nonsense and paranoia about the flu, then one doesn’t know what is.

Are we all to wear bio-suits every day this coming winter? Are we to stop shaking hands? Are we not to kiss our loved ones? The flu may well prove to become more dangerous than it currently is, but does that mean that we must stop living life? The answer would most certainly be no.

The Education Ministry yesterday organized a press conference and said that while precaution is key, things must go on as normal. The decision was taken for schools to open as normal at the end of September as closing them would mean “having to close any place where the public gathers”.

This is the attitude with which we must approach the virus and its spread. The same guidelines apply, wash your hands often. And if you are ill, stay home and seek medical advice. It’s useless to try and cocoon oneself against it.

But blowing things out of all proportion, such as what happened in the Malta versus Sweden game is only likely to breed uncertainty, doubt and panic.

While this newspaper, like everyone else, recognizes the potential danger of the flu, it also recognizes that taking precautions is the way ahead. Not, however, in instances where it would be superfluous to do so, such as in the case of the Malta versus Sweden game.

The flu is here and it will break out this winter, just as it does every winter. Like the normal flu, with complications, it can lead to death. Like the ordinary flu, if one starts showing symptoms, they should stay home and seek the attention of a doctor. The most important thing, medical experts have told the world, is to avoid spreading the virus if possible and that means staying at home if not well. Not shaking the hand of a person who has just exchanged about a litre of body fluids with you is a bit over the top.