Costa Rican
President Urges Calm, Asks Pharmaceutical
Not To Gouge Prices
Costa Rica Bans Kissing; Mexico Asks
Population To Stay Indoors; Russia Bans
Import of US Pork
Suspected
Cases of Swine Flu in Costa Rica Climbs To
60
Costa Rica Sets Aside $5 Million To Combat
Swine Flu; WHO Raises Alert To "5"
Turrialba
Seeks To Be Premiere Mountain Tourism
Destination
Guanacaste Blooms With Culture In April and
May
Costa Rica
Bans Kissing; Mexico Asks Population To Stay
Indoors; Russia Bans Import of US Pork; Cuba
Halts All Air Traffic To Mexico...
In Costa Rica, the ministra de Salud, María
Luisa Avila, suggested that citizens
temporarily stop greeting each other with
the traditional kiss on the cheek.
Nicaragua prohibited imports of live pigs
from Mexico. Nicaragua's health minister,
Guillermo Gonzalez, declared a national
emergency and announced plans to train
35,000 teachers and student volunteers to
detect the virus throughout the country.
Guatemala has yet to confirm the presence of
swine flu, but government officials
acknowledge a high vulnerability to the
virus since Guatemala borders Mexico and has
close commercial ties with its neighbor.
In Mexico, Mexican president, Filipe
Calderon, is asking the population to stay
home between May 1 and May 5, during the
country's Labour day holiday.
In Bogota, Colombia, pork consumption has
declined even though health authorities say
it presents no risk.
In Brazil, a 40-year-old man was
hospitalized with swine flu Tuesday in the
northern coastal city of Salvador, the
Brazilian government news agency reported.
The man had just returned from Miami. He was
the 12th person known to be suffering from
the malady in Brazil.
Venezuela, Russia and Guatemala warned their
citizens against traveling to Mexico and the
United States.
Peru and Britain limited the warning to
Mexico.
The government of Cuba suspended flights to
and from Mexico for 48 hours.
Russia has banned imported pork from at
least 11 U.S. states.
The World Health Organization has said the
epidemic isn't serious enough yet to clamp
down on traveling from one country to
another.
That didn't stop Cuba from becoming the
first country to halt air traffic with
Mexico.
Israel took a more measured approach, after
an emergency meeting chaired by Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The outbreak ''is currently a relatively
mild - and not fatal - disease'' in the
Middle East, the prime minister's office
said.
Israel hospitalized in isolation two recent
returnees from Mexico who were suffering
from swine flu.
Israel's deputy health minister irked some
Mexican leaders by trying to label the cause
of the outbreak the ''Mexican flu'' instead
of the ''swine flu.'' The change would have
allowed strict religious Jews from having to
utter the word of an animal that's
considered dirty and non-kosher.
|
|
|
|
|
