Posponen cumbre del Caricom sobre el ébola
CARICOM Ebola meeting postponed
A meeting of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) heads of government to discuss the region’s approach to tackling the Ebola virus has been postponed.
This was revealed by Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bisessar during a news conference at her office on Monday.
Persad Bisessar told the media that she requested the meeting ahead of a United Nations resolution on the disease, which has now claimed nearly 5,000 lives worldwide, mainly in West Africa.
She said CARICOM Secretary General Irwin LaRocque had initially informed her that the meeting would take place in Port of Spain this week.
However the meeting has now been pushed back to November, on a date to be fixed.
The postponement is to facilitate regional heads who are currently out of the region.
Meanwhile there growing calls for a regional approach to fighting the Ebola virus.
Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Orville London said on Monday that no single island or territory could wage such a battle on its own.
London pointed out the importance of a regional approach in light of the region’s heavy dependence on tourism.
He said a single case of the disease anywhere in the region could have serious negative consequences for the rest of the region’s tourism industry, as visitors will avoid travel to any region where the disease is present.
The chief secretary called on the region to plan, prepare and pray.
