CARICOM health ministers hold emergency meeting on deadly Coronavirus

This country’s Minister of Health, Luke Browne, was at the head of a four member delegation engaged in an emergency virtual meeting of CARICOM Ministers , February 3, on the Coronavirus which the World Health Organisation has now classified as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Simone Keizer-Beache; epidemiologist, Tamara Bobb; and Dr. Rosmond Adams were the technical professionals on the local team engaged in the video conference meeting which received updates on regional plans to deal with the virus.

The Ministers and Officials agreed that a comprehensive Communications Strategy would be deployed to address misinformation about the virus as well as provide citizens with correct information on how the situation is being addressed.

The strategy will target various audiences and include information about the ways in which the virus can be prevented, transmitted and controlled.

 It was also recommended at the meeting that the Region agree to a co-ordinated, standard approach for handling

of entry to air and sea ports. Issues such as the roles and functions of personnel at the ports, transporting of samples for testing, dialogue with airlines and cruise lines, and action to be taken before, during and after an outbreak were all discussed.

 The Member States have agreed that they will continue to monitor the situation as it evolves internationally and are on standby to meet again as required.

 The Coronavirus outbreak which originated in Wahun City, Hubei Province, China, started in December 2019 and, up to this week about 8,000 (eight thousand) cases have been laboratory-confirmed globally, 82 of which are outside of China.

  The CARICOM Secretariat said that representatives from the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) as well as the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) were all part of the meeting which also received a presentation from the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) regarding the measures they have implemented to minimise the transmission of the disease.