Health Minister Jerry Narace said yesterday that the postponement of next month’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) was not on the cards, despite the fact that the country is currently in the midst of battling a second wave of the influenza A/H1N1 or swine flu virus.

He also said swine flu was one issue he has no intention of ’politicising’ - despite what he said yesterday are attempts by the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) to do just that.

Asked yesterday to elaborate on his ministry’s management policy for CHOGM, Narace said, ’With regard to CHOGM, at this point, the ministry sees no threat and therefore we have no recommendations that are different. I’ve made it very clear that the Government, especially this Government, has no intention of politicising H1N1. If they want to do it they can go ahead.’

Narace was at the time referring to call from Caroni East MP, Dr Tim Gopeesingh, for Government to postpone CHOGM given the rising swine flu toll and the four confirmed virus-related deaths last week.

The UNC is today expected to raise a motion in Parliament for the suspension of other matters, in order to have the House discuss the Government’s handling of the swine flu threat to Trinidad and Tobago.

At a press briefing at the Opposition office in Port of Spain yesterday, Gopeesingh took Narace to task for several matters stemming from concern about the potential of the virus to go pandemic. Among the issues of contention was Government’s decision to go ahead with the hosting of the CHOGM.

’Whether they (Government) are reconsidering hosting this Heads of Government Meeting, particular in the case over 160 confirmed cases of the infection and four deaths which occurred just recently, and there are possible cases of more patients dying which have not been spoken about or confirmed by the Ministry of Health. So we are asking for Government’s reconsideration of hosting this Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.’

Gopeesingh also called for the drug Tamiflu to be made available to the public not only through medical institutions but via pharmacies, for more intense public awareness programmes, better management of the infected and suspected cases and better consultation with stakeholders in the medical field, such as the Medical Practitioner’s Association of Trinidad and Tobago (MPATT).

The UNC’s press conference preceded one held by the Ministry of Health two hours later, where Narace sought to re-iterate the Government’s commitment to battling swine flu and where he dismissed the Opposition’s criticisms.

-KB