1. Responding to COVID-19 in the Caribbean through the novel tourism and health program in the Caribbean.
- Author
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Indar, Lisa, Cyrus, Ornella, Mohammed, Frieda, Lesueur, Cecilia, and Edwin, Jonathan
- Subjects
INFORMATION storage & retrieval systems ,MEDICAL databases ,PUBLIC health ,PUBLIC health surveillance ,TRAVEL ,COVID-19 pandemic - Abstract
The health of Caribbean economies is closely related to the health of its travel and tourism industry, given that the Caribbean is the most tourism-dependent region in the world. The global spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) was propelled by travel and is threatening the health security of the region while, at the same time, disrupting tourism and reducing revenues in Caribbean economies. The Caribbean Public Health Agency's Regional Tourism and Health/Travellers Health Program is an innovative program that is addressing the health, safety, and environmental sanitation threats to tourism, with the aim of strengthening regional and national health systems and enhancing the health of visitors and locals. This unique program adopts a multi-prong (real-time early warning and response tourism and health information system (THiS), regional guidelines, food safety and environmental sanitation training, hospitality health safety and environmental standards, policy), and multi-sectoral (regional and international health and tourism partners) approach for implementation. The program has built capacity and equipped countries with regional tools that support preparedness and response to public health threats like COVID-19. This is the first integrated program of its kind, setting an international precedent for improving sustainable tourism and regional health security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020