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04/30/09
Generation of Swine, Flu Scare Shutting Mexico Down
Filed under: Cancun Casa Blog, Island Sounds, Cancun Swine Flu/AH1N1
Posted by: Dangers @ 8:39 pm

“We are turning into a nation of whimpering slaves to Fear; fear of swine flu, fear of war, fear of poverty, fear of random terrorism, fear of getting down-sized or fired because of the plunging economy, fear of getting evicted for bad debts or suddenly getting locked up in a military detention camp on vague charges of being a Terrorist sympathizer.”
Hunter S. Thompson

As you may have ascertained, we’re not playing happy camper tonight, they’ve gone and done it, they’re shutting Mexico down for five days, May 1st through May 5, in the continued swine flu scare, or can we call it a pandemic yet, as the Mexican Federal Government orders, asks, and cajoles it’s State governments to follow suit on a nation wide halt for almost everything but non essential services. Don’t take me wrong, I believe the situation is serious, but I also believe the horse is out of the barn as U.S. President Obama was so apt to remind us last night, stealing one of my favorite lines by the way, though I stole it from unnamed sources that probably had a long line of horse thieving in their bloodlines.

In less than a few short weeks we’re on the brink of putting one major nation in a quasi martial law isolation in some strange test at containment and isolation for a virus that has leapt across North America, galloped into Canada, flew across an ocean to Western Europe, found the Middle East and swan dived into the South Pacific. I mean who are we kidding, the thing is out there, the thing is on the loose and we’re all future potential targets pretending that by avoiding Mexico and locking her down gives us some chance at immortality, forever being swine flu safe from the serious but free AH1N1 swine flu variant.

All the while, our Mexican brothers and sisters sit there taking the blame for being the wrong country, at the wrong time, and an easier target than the U.S., Canada, Spain, France, the UK, Israel etc. While Mexico City, a city of an estimated 10-12 million people with a sprawling suburban area including upwards of 22 million people living in fear shuts down, along with the rest of her fellow countrymen while soccer moms and Ivory Tower types in the so called non Third World scream panic from the playing fields and rooftops half way around the world, gripped with fear that the swine flu is coming.

The reality check is that swine flu is here, and if it isn’t yet, it soon will be, what we don’t know and what experts fear the most is that the virus will mutate into something much more dangerous. And, I’ll tell you that’s a possibility but right now, the masses are being given the false presumption that surgical masks, rubber gloves and a case of “Wet Ones” will protect them, and that if they hide behind those walls at those safety sealed communities, the all safe will sound.

In short, it’s far to late for containment, that’s why the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control haven’t asked for outright international travel bans, they know the cat’s out of the bag, and we’re all hoping that the swine flu variant doesn’t develop into something much more effective in making people ill. Now, I’m not saying you should go out and french kiss the next twenty people you meet either or expose those beloved rugrats to a pee fest at the local kids pool but let’s get a grip on the fear and the reality of the situation while working towards a common solution in line with the situation.

The first step would be in making sure that the patents on effective drugs for treatment thus far like Tamiflu are pulled from the capitalist market place, mass produced and delivered for free to areas and people currently in the virus scope and prepare the same for the next line of countries to be hit in the coming weeks, months. The next would be responsible media and journalism, a self imposed moral obligation beyond booming headlines and jarring scenes of ratings chasers that make television broadcasting its bread and butter, those obligatory talking heads, and their production members whom are at the core of the original Thompson, Generation of Swine.

I’d really like to know when fear and false bravado became such agents of the same modern generations that walked on the moon and vowed to work towards world peace, before a whole slew of self help and me first mutants decided the world was there’s for the taking, as long as little Dick wore a condom when he practiced anal sex on Jane. Somehow the romance just ain’t what it use to be when fear has even gripped our modern sexuality.

What I’m trying to say here folks, and I may have just popped a few eyelids, is that we need to stop living in fear, afraid of the dark, the unknown.

Is Mexico really what we’re afraid of, is it the swine flu, or is it that everything has gotten us to the point of self resign over the last twenty or so years that we would feel more comfortable hiding under a rock…

Until someone signals the all clear.

Dangers…

10 comments
04/29/09
Cancun, Mexico & U.S. Flu Update For Travelers: Suspension of Non Essential Activities
Filed under: Cancun Tourism, Cancun Swine Flu/AH1N1
Posted by: Dangers @ 9:52 pm

Mexico Government announces “suspension of all non essential activities” from May 1st to May 5th.

Representatives from the Federal Government of Mexico announced a suspension of all non essential activities between May 1st and May 5th. The suspension applies to all non essential government offices and businesses. The authorities asked that the individual States in Mexico comply with the order. Businesses allowed to stay open under the directive are pharmacies, supermarkets, food stores, restaurants, gas stations and the phantom retail outlets known as miscellaneous according to the reports. Government services will remain open for basic requirements including trash collection (public/private), airports, hospitals and roadways.

Press Reports from Cancun: Indicate that the Eco Parks like Xcaret and Xel Ha will remain open, beaches will remain open, malls will remain open, bars and clubs will have limited occupancy requirements with some closings, marinas will remain open, there’s no news of any mass hotel closings or tourist evacuations and that the Cancun Airport has installed infrared body temperature detection machines that will monitor passengers arriving and departing for potential signs of illness based on body temperature. While things are not operating as normal due to the Federal Government decree, Cancun remains open for business. (updated 04/30/09)

Local Cancun Blogger CancunCanuck is following the story from Cancun on her blog at http://www.cancuncanuck.com/. I highly recommend folks check out the information regarding special health detection equipment being utilized by the Cancun Airport starting tomorrow and other issues involving closures of local government and businesses.

Fort Worth Texas:
In Fort Worth, Texas, local officials closed school districts to a 130,000 students indefinitely.

Nationally:
In addition, reports in the U.S. are confirming over 100 U.S. school districts around the country will be closing due to suspected and confirmed threats of swine flu cases.

Presidential Press Conference:
U.S. President Obama stated; “

“I’ve asked every American to take the same steps you would take to
prevent any other flu: Keep your hands washed; cover your mouth when
you cough; stay home from work if you’re sick; and keep your children
home from school if they’re sick,”.

Obama downplayed
the possibility of closing the border with Mexico as a way to control
the virus, also known by its clinical name of H1N1.


Breaking News: World Health Organization Raises Alert status to five (5) of six (6), the second highest level, indicating swine flu nears widespread human infection and pandemic level. Phase 5 is characterized by human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one WHO region. While most countries will not be affected at this stage, the declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the
planned mitigation measures is short.

04/29/09 Mexico Travel and World Influenza Update

1) Reports indicate that the first confirmed U.S. fatality from swine flu in Texas of a 23 month old child.
2) Cruise Ship Industry cancels Mexico Ports of call temporarily.
3) In Cancun, no confirmed cases of swine flu.
4) In Cancun and Playa Del Carmen, voluntary efforts by local bars, clubs and restaurants to limit clientele.
5) All Archaeological sites in Mexico closed until further notice by INAH.
6) Most Canadian Flights canceled to Mexico.
7) UK based Thompson Travel and First Choice cancel Mexico flights and tours temporarily to Mexico.
8) Suspected new swine flu cases in multiple US States.
9) Wikipedia Swine Flu Map: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_swine_flu_outbreak

     Confirmed deaths     Confirmed cases     Unconfirmed cases
10) First confirmed case of Swine Flu in Germany
11) Cancun reporting estimated 30% loss in Hotel business, 50% in
restaurant industry and limited tourist activity in retail areas.
12) “Rumors” of Tourist Evacuation Over the Next Few Days:
This one’s a bit sketchy but a report (rumor?) in the press from Spain appear to indicate that the Spanish newspaper El Pais and Spanish authorities believe that tourists in Cancun and Quintana Roo will be evacuated (their terminology, not ours) to their home countries over the next few days, ending on Sunday. The paper quotes the Mexican Secretary of
Tourism as stating the majority of tourists will start to fly out
between Friday and Sunday. They further state that the airlines, Air
Canada, Air Europe, Martin Air, Tui, Condor and Thompson will take part
with no mention of any of the Mexican or American Airlines. We, repeat that this one is confirmed in only one source at this time and until further confirmation must be considered rumor. Without further confirmation we currently consider this a misinterpretation by the Spanish Press.http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Mexico/suspende/todas/actividades/esenciales/elppgl/20090430elpepuint_3/Tes



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04/28/09
Sandals, Summer, and Swine Flu
Filed under: Cancun Tourism, Island Sounds, Cancun Swine Flu/AH1N1
Posted by: Dangers @ 7:01 pm

Repeat of the 04/29/09 Mexico and U.S. Traveler Update follows this blog.

Today, we’re going to drift back into the past for a bit of music that’s become synonymous with the beach, the sea and relaxing, not to mention long boards and the search for big surf as we present another in our regular series of island music, past, present and future. This one’s from the immortal Sandals, from the mother of all surfing movies, Endless Summer. We thought it might be a good idea for everyone to step back a bit from the influenza outbreaks occurring to a time when the music helped heal the heart and soothe the soul.

For those looking for Travel to Cancun, Mexico information, among other news of the day, give the video a click and read below for updates.

We’re pleased to present for your enjoyment, courtesy of YouTube and the folks at http://tri-surf.com/ , The Sandals doing the beach classic theme song from The Endless Summer



3 comments
04/27/09
Cancun, Mexico & U.S. Flu Update For Travelers
Filed under: Cancun Tourism, Cancun Swine Flu/AH1N1
Posted by: Dangers @ 6:19 pm

Breaking News: World Health Organization Raises Alert status to five (5) of six (6), the second highest level, indicating swine flu nears widespread human infection and pandemic level. Phase 5 is characterized by human-to-human spread of the
virus into at least two countries in one WHO region. While most
countries will not be affected at this stage, the declaration of Phase
5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to
finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the
planned mitigation measures is short.

04/29/09 Mexico Travel and World Influenza Update

1) Reports indicate that the first confirmed U.S. fatality from swine flu in Texas of a 23 month old child.
2) Cruise Ship Industry cancels Mexico Ports of call temporarily.
3) In Cancun, no confirmed cases of swine flu.
4) In Cancun and Playa Del Carmen, voluntary efforts by local bars, clubs and restaurants to limit clientele.
5) All Archaeological sites in Mexico closed until further notice by INAH.
6) Most Canadian Flights canceled to Mexico.
7) UK based Thompson Travel and First Choice cancel Mexico flights and tours temporarily to Mexico.
8) Suspected new swine flu cases in multiple US States.
9) Wikipedia Swine Flu Map: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_swine_flu_outbreak

     Confirmed deaths     Confirmed cases     Unconfirmed cases
10) First confirmed case of Swine Flu in Germany
11) Cancun reporting estimated 30% loss in Hotel business, 50% in restaurant industry and limited tourist activity in retail areas.



04/28/09 Mexico Travel and World Influenza Update

1) Transat Airlines and its travel arm announced today that all future flights to Mexico have been canceled. Air Canada has canceled all flights to Cozumel, Cancun and Puerto Vallarta until June 1, 2009, flights for the time being will continue oddly enough to Mexico City. http://www.aircanada.com/en/news/trav_adv/090426.html Sunwing Vacations is canceling all flights and trips to Mexico until May 29. http://www.sunwing.ca/mexicoadvisory.asp
2) The government of Cuba announced that all flight to and from Mexico have been canceled.
3) City officials in Mexico City announced the cancellation of almost all public events within the city as Mexico City and her people have become gripped with fear in the ongoing influenza outbreak. City officials stated they would have ceased all mass transit operations for the public but the decision was not in their hands but in the hands of the Federal Government.
4) Swine Flu AH1N1 cases have been confirmed in Israel and New Zealand.
5) Carnival Cruise Lines has canceled all cruise stops in Mexico from April 30 to May 4.
6) Thompson Travel in the UK has canceled all flights to Mexico for upcoming tourists and travelers.
7) From the CDC:

Chart: U.S. Human Cases of Swine Flu Infection as of 4/28/2009, 11:00am ET. Number of confirmed laboratory cases by state. California: 10; Kansas: 2; New York City: 45; Ohio: 1; Texas: 6. Total Case Count: 64 cases.
    
8) The WHO Influenza Phase Alert system remains at “4″.
9) Reports from Quintana Roo, Mexico, the home state to Cancun indicate that despite inferences from media reports that there has been no confirmed cases of the new swine influenza.
10) The Minister of Tourism in Mexico indicates that they expect a 40% loss in tourism by Friday.
11) A report from the newspaper Diario de Quintana Roo has a local health official recommending local Mexicans not to travel to points in Mexico, Central and North of Quintana Roo and the Yucatan Peninsula.
12) All major Maya Archeological sites in Quintana Roo have been ordered closed due to the influenza outbreak. It is believed that all publicly accessible archeological sites will be closed until further notice throughout Mexico. http://www.noticaribe.com.mx/cancun/2009/04/cierran_todas_las_zonas_arqueologicas_de_mexico.html
13) Airline Policy Changes Courtesy of Apple Vacations: http://www.applevacations.com/showStatic.do?command=showStaticPage&targetPage=/static/promotions/update/airline_policies.htm

Dangers…

*********************************************

04/27/09: Update


Good evening folks, this one is another serious blog in what has become a follow up to a nightmarish weekend for people across the continent and travelers with itineraries in Canada, Mexico and the United States. The business at hand is of course the Swine Influenza (Flu) AH1N1 outbreaks occurring in multiple areas of Canada, Mexico and the U.S. with a currently, potential, expanding incident in Spain, yet another in Scotland and the UK, along with suspected but unconfirmed incidents in Columbia, Israel and New Zealand. Mexico City continues to be the epicenter of the Swine Flu outbreak with 149 suspected (not all confirmed) deaths considered influenza related and over 1,995 hospitalizations for suspected flu like symptoms.

Here at Living on Isla Time we regretfully inform that we cannot provide travel advice for people concerned with whether they should or should not go to the above areas, particularly North America at this time. We’re not passing the buck but facing reality, we’re not in the business of providing medical consultations for travelers and don’t plan on starting now. As you may have ascertained the situation is considered serious by health officials worldwide and anyone with health and/ or travelers concerns to these regions should seek advice from the Center For Disease Control (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), their national government and/ or local officials, and medical professionals. Please do not hesitate to contact your local physician or hospital should you be experiencing Flu like symptoms.

However, what we will try and provide is important news as available and updates for travelers as we obtain them. Please remember, we are not primarily a news site and do not update 24/7. We also call them as we see them and the information here may not necessarily be agreeable to you but the opinion is ours, we’ll try and make it worth your visit either way.

A short month ago, I was sitting in Cancun, Mexico, enjoying Mojitos after a day at Coba and a visit to Playa Del Carmen, quite frankly, I never could have suspected we would be here today discussing swine flu. Trust me, I symphathize with those with travel plans, vacations and what not in Mexico and elsewhere under these stressful travel conditions. But, please let’s not forget to think of those in Cancun, and all of Mexico, and the rest of the areas of the world facing this situation as we follow this story.

Now after that disclaimer let’s roll with what we have to date;

1) The WHO Status Report was raised one level today to a Phase 4 Alert:

2) The CDC Report: Newsworthy is the number of confirmed cases doubled today to 40 in the U.S. on the disclosure of 20 more students in a NY school testing positive.

3) Wiki Map (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

     Confirmed cases followed by death     Confirmed cases     Unconfirmed or suspected cases See also: Live map of swineflu, H1N1 live map

4) Important Links:
    WHO: http://www.who.int/en/
    CDC:  http://www.cdc.gov/
   
5) Airline Links: Note, many Airlines are offering adjustments, waiving rebooking fees and rescheduling for trips to Mexico and other flights.  http://www.avhome.com/airlines.html

6) News From Mexico:
    Diario de Yucatan: http://www.yucatan.com.mx/default.asp
    Novedades: http://www.novenet.com.mx/
    Milenio: http://www.milenio.com/portal/index2.php
    Por Esto: http://www.poresto.net/

7) Confirmed and Suspected Cases by Country:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_swine_flu_outbreak

8) Earlier today the Health Minister of the European Union requested travelers to avoid the U.S. and Mexico unless absolutely necessary.

9) Today, the U.S. Government requested travelers to avoid unnecessary travel to Mexico.

10) Mexico has issued special powers to President Calderon in an effort to combat the outbreak.

11) As of now, there’s no absolute travel ban for international travelers but most major airports are monitoring passengers especially those from the U.S. and Mexico.

12) There’s still no confirmed cases of Swine Flu AH1N1 in Cancun or the State of Quintana Roo.

13) Cancun, Mexico is operating as normal.

14) Schools have been closed all over Mexico until at least May 6, 2009 and most public functions in and around Mexico City have been delayed or curtailed. Rumors persist of a shut down of mass transit in Mexico City but no shutdown has occurred to our knowledge as of this time.

15) A four year old from the small town or Perote, well west of Veracruz, Mexico, is now believed to be the first victim of the new swine flu strain. The boy lived near a large local pig farm operated by U.S. and International Pork Company “Smithfield Farms, Inc.” Press reports from Mexico reported that almost 1/3 of the residents of the town came down with flu like symptoms that they blamed on the pig farm. Smithfield Farms representatives told DowJones.Inc that they found no signs of swine influenza within the farm. Swine Flu is typically transmitted between pigs but on occasion has been known to move to humans as is the situation with the current Swine Flu outbreak. http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200904271833DOWJONESDJONLINE000645_FORTUNE5.htm

16) An estimated 26 flights on average arrive daily from Mexico City to Cancun. Passengers are being monitored for symptoms of flu and are being asked to fill out a questionnaire regarding past health history and previous location.

17) All other flights are operating normally, or as normally as can be maintained given the current situation, there are reports that major travel agencies are canceling large tours to certain areas. There was also a news report of a flight canceled to Cancun from Germany this afternoon, another from Spain, and yet another from Canada. Local Hotel operators in Cancun are reporting canceled conventions and tour groups while on the Island of Cozumel, there’s reports of canceled cruise ship docking of 2500 passengers and the start of cancellations of cruise ships from the U.S. as per local officials. It is anticipated that passenger bookings on flights into Cancun and other areas of Mexico will be canceled or decrease as a result of the official statements today and the outbreak.

18) Public events are slated to be canceled in Cancun based on reports, a parade scheduled for May 1 and other coming events with public sponsorship.

19) The WHO has not recommended the closing of borders and the restriction of international travel at this time.

Signing off and safe travels…

Dangers…

 

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