WITH 54 people having contracted the influenza A H1N1 virus thus far, according to statistics issued by the Ministry of Health yesterday, Trinidad and Tobago is now the highest rated Caribbean country for people infected with the virus.

Of this figure, nine people in Trinidad and seven people in Tobago are still being labelled as active carriers of the virus, but they are being kept in isolation at their homes, a ministry statement said.

The increase to 54, however, comes two days after Minister of Health, Jerry Narace, publically announced that the last epidemiological update gave a cumulative number of 32 confirmed cases, with all but nine of those having already recuperated and returned to their normal activities.

Yesterday’s statistics on the other hand, stated that since then, the ministry has received an additional 22 new cases, of which 13 reside in Tobago. As a result of these new figures and the arrival of the August vacation next week, the ministry intends to keep a close eye on summer camps and parties across the country, since they believe these events will most likely allow the virus to spread easily.

The ministry thus announced guidelines for mass gatherings during a pandemic yesterday, in order to help promote the safety and welfare of all citizens during this school vacation.

The ministry said the guidelines, which primarily target patrons, organisers and camp hosts, are relevant for each and every citizen of this country and are freely available in detail on its website www.health.gov.tt.

Meanwhile, since vacation camps bring in a number of people to one venue, often children together for a sustained period of time, the ministry is requesting that parents or guardians check their child each morning for flu-like symptoms and keep sick children home and away from other people.

Additionally, all camps should have daily flu prevention briefings or reminders, focusing on things such as respiratory etiquette, hand hygiene and social distancing. And according to the ministry, social distancing means keeping a clear six feet away from a person with flu-like symptoms.

As for mass gatherings such as fetes and other public events, the ministry suggests that people who have been in close contact with a person confirmed for influenza A/H1N1 over the last 10 days, stay at home and away from public places like work, malls, church and other social gatherings for at least seven days after symptoms start, or 24 hours after the symptoms clear.