Caribbean Community governments have rushed to organize an emergency meeting of health ministers and high officials this week as the travel-dependent region studies ways of tackling the deadly coronavirus and activating preventative measures.
The Guyana-based bloc secretariat announced the emergency meeting as the work week began, saying that the umbrella Public Health Agency (CARPHA) had been forced to activate its incidence management team for emergency response following the outbreak mainly in China where there have been hundreds of deaths. Doctors in the Philippines have also reported a fatality. There have been confirmed cases in nearly two dozen countries including the U.S.
Last week, the Washington D.C.-based World Health Organization (WHO) classified the outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern as Chinese officials worked to contain the spread and limit the economic fallout from the outbreak.
Ministers will join officials at the secretariat via Skype as the ministers and officials listen to updates from medical officials. A number of regional countries have already taken drastic measures to limit the spread of the disease.
In Jamaica, medical officials denied entry to 19 Chinese nationals who flew to the island late Friday, Jan. 31. The group was immediately quarantined and put back on a plane over the weekend as panicky officials moved to enforce the travel ban for travelers from the Chinese mainland.
The Jamaica Observer newspaper quoted Health Minister Chris Tufton as saying that a local woman who also arrived from China over the weekend has been placed in extended quarantine as doctors monitor her condition.
“We have no confirmation yet of coronavirus, but she is being held out of an abundance of caution. The patient who landed in Jamaica on Jan. 30 reported no history of cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, vomiting, muscle pain or diarrhea. Further, the patient’s vitals, including blood pressure, pulse rate, blood oxygen, and temperature all registered normal. The patient does not, therefore, meet the case definition for novel coronavirus,” the health ministry said in a statement. However, as a precaution, the patient has been put in isolation and will remain in isolation until the symptoms abate.”
At the weekend, Jamaica imposed a blanket travel ban to and from China just hours after the WHO had dubbed the situation in China as a global emergency. “Individuals returning from China who have been granted landing privileges and who show any symptom of the novel coronavirus will be put in immediate isolation. Isolation facilities are operational at all public hospitals, with a specialist facility available at the National Chest Hospital,” the government said.
A number of other Caricom member states have also imposed restrictions on travel to and from China. Officials say that a unified position as to how the region, which urgently needs to avoid any problems with negative travel publicity, will handle cases will have to be agreed upon.
Some western and Asian countries have imposed outright bans on flights to China as air crews fearing infection have refused to work.
The troublesome coronavirus outbreak, which originated in Wuhan city, Hubei province, China, was first detected in December. Chinese officials say that up to ten thousand cases have been confirmed around the world, with nearly 100 confirmed outside of China.
Trinidad has one case of a student returning from China before protective protocols were put in place. She is being monitored by doctors while in self quarantine at home Health Minister Terry Deyalsingh said.