As Swine Flu continues to spread in the Caribbean regional health officials are planning an emergency meeting from July 2-5, in Guyana to discuss the problem.
The meeting of CARICOM Chief Medical Officers (CMO) are aimed at crafting protocols, specific to the region, on how to tackle this global pandemic.
However officials have stressed that the protocols which were being developed by the CMOs were not intended to replace the internationally accepted ones, but are vital for the Caribbean.
Swine Flu is having a serious impact on tourism, which is the lifeblood of many of the region's smaller states. Cruise ships have been turned back from ports in Barbados, Grenada and Saint Lucia in recent weeks.The University of the West Indies (UWI) and the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (Carec) are collaborating on a study that would provide some much needed data to deal with the pandemic.
Caricom Secretary-General Edwin Carrington has said that Swine Flu is a significant matter for the region and should therefore, not be taken lightly.
"We should all be interested in a policy that deals with this matter. As a region we also need to consider the importance of tourism and its value," Carrington said.
In Tobago, for example, there has been a dramatic rise in Swine Flu cases in schools. One school had to be closed for two weeks and principals are wondering if the authorities will do the same for other schools that are reporting new cases.
The latest WHO bulletin on the virus shows a global total of confirmed cases has reached more than 52,000 with 231 deaths.
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