Emergency planning taking place in Mass.

(NECN: Josh Brogadir) - A pandemic preparation bill passed the MA State Senate Tuesday and is heading to the House. And while that was being debated on Beacon Hill - emergency planning was going on elsewhere in Massachusetts. Public health representatives from seven towns in the Merrimack Valley sat down in Tewksbury, MA for a regular monthly meeting planned long before last week's pandemic scare began. But with what seems like most everything else, the focus shifted to swine flu. Frank Singleton, Lowell's Health Director says its no longer a drill, they are preparing for the real thing. Chelmsford Board of Health Director Richard Day says the task is to communicate with the public. Similarly a session in the Senate chambers at the the MA State House, that also involved liquor licenses and county sheriffs, featured a unanimous vote for an expedited Pandemic Preparations bill. The legislation gives the MA Public Health Commissioner the discretion to respond to an outbreak like the kind going on in Mexico - to close or evacuate buildings, enter private property, isolate or quarantine people, and to get and distribute meds and vaccines. A registry of MA volunteers would be created and would be activated in case of emergency. State Senator Richard Moore, a Worcester County Democrat, says one part of the bill is for health professionals from other states to be able to help volunteer their services in the Bay State. The city of Lowell, Mass is in day two of the waiting game to find out from the Centers for Disease Control if two brothers ages 8 and 10 who were on a family vacation to Mexico do have swine flu. Health officials there are preparing just in case. Singleton says those two kids from Lowell did not go to school again Tuesday and are resting at home. Results were expected from the CDC as early as Monday night or Tuesday. Senate bill 2028, the Pandemic and Disaster Preparation and Response Bill has actually passed the Senate a few times - but never both the Senate and the House. It is expected to be heard in the house later this week. If people do not follow the emergency declaration, such as a quarantine order, they could face up to 30 days in prison, and a fine of up to $1000 a day.