Regional tourism and health officials say although no cases of the novel coronavirus have been reported in the Caribbean, they are hard at work aiming to keep the region coronavirus-free.
At least 213 people are dead and more than 9,709 cases have been confirmed in mainland China, and as the virus spreads globally there are now more than 140 confirmed cases of the virus outside mainland China, including six in the United States and two in the United Kingdom.
The World Health Organization has declared a public health emergency of international concern.
The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) as well as the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) have come together to help drive a concerted effort by the region’s health and tourism stakeholders to help prevent and mitigate any impact from the spread of the virus.
The three organizations quickly mobilized over a week ago, with CARPHA playing a key role in gathering facts and preparing briefs and tools for the region’s largest industry, tourism, based upon its consultations with global health authorities, including WHO and the CDC in the United States.
“We see CARPHA as a key intermediary between global and local health authorities in brokering information and sharing intelligence essential to monitoring the situation with the Novel Coronavirus and preventing its spread into our region. This is important to the health of our residents and visitors and also important to the Caribbean’s economic well-being, as tourism is the region’s most important contributor to employment and revenue,” said CARPHA’s Executive Director Dr. Joy St. John.
Frank Comito, CEO and Director General of CHTA, advises that the organization is working with its federation of 33 national hotel and tourism associations throughout the region, advising them to be vigilant with sanitary precautions, monitoring of guest and employee illnesses, and prompt reporting to local health authorities any questionable illnesses.
“The Caribbean is one of the world’s great escapes and we want to safeguard our guests and employees and provide assurances that they will continue to enjoy all that we offer.”
Nearly 60 million people have been under partial or full lockdown in Chinese cities for a week. Several countries including Canada are sending planes to evacuate foreign citizens under lockdown in Wuhan.
Jamaica and now Antigua and Barbuda have implemented travel bans between China due to the outbreak of the coronavirus in the Asian country.
Cruise line operators like Carnival and Royal Caribbean could be severely impacted by a coronavirus outbreak, particularly on a contained ship and the cruise lines have already canceled departures out of Asian ports and are stepping up testing measures for the virus.