| Beaches Turks and Caicos hit by gastroenteritis |
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| Written by Richard Green/richard@fptci.com | |||
| Sunday, 03 June 2012 18:51 | |||
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Beaches Turks and Caicos is the latest resort battling an outbreak of gastroenteritis, which causes diarrhea and vomiting. “Beaches Turks and Caicos has agreed to follow a recommendation by the Ministry of Health not to accept new guests at the resort until Saturday 9th June 2012 in order to undertake precautionary cleaning programmes and break the 14-hour incubation of the illness,” the resort said in a June 3 statement. The largest resort on the main tourist island of Providenciales is the second to halt reservations pending a full cleansing to eradicate the unpleasant but basically harmless sickness. Grace Bay Club announced May 24 that it stopped accepting reservations until June 1 to sanitize the resort. Beaches advises guests to revise their bookings. Beaches guests should contact their travel agents or call 1-800-SANDALS to revise their bookings. “At Beaches Turks and Caicos, we operate to the highest standards of health and safety in the world and whilst we have experienced a very small number of cases at the resort and in fact now have fewer number of people affected by the illness,” the statement said. “We continue to monitor the situation very closely and are working with the resorts and country’s health care professionals to ensure that health and safety practices are followed.” The fp has been informed that hundreds of visitors have been stricken with the illness since April, but the government health team investigating the outbreak has not said how many have been affected pending the outcome of its investigation. “Except for one or two properties on Providenciales, all of our airports, resorts, cruise port and auxiliary services across the country are providing the usual friendly and professional services that have become a trademark of brand TCI,” the Turks and Caicos Islands Tourist Board said in a June 2 statement. On May 26, the Ministry of Health and Education (MOHE) and Environmental Health Department (EHD) confirmed that the first test confirmed the presence of norovirus, and subsequent tests have confirmed more cases of the highly contagious viral illness which is common in outbreaks of gastroenteritis. It can be transmitted from person to person, through contact with vomitus or feces of infected individuals, consumption of contaminated food or water, contact with soiled surfaces and bed linens and other items. Other than supportive therapy, norovirus usually requires little by way of medical interventions and usually resolves without incident. “Infection control measures focused on proper hygiene and deep cleaning and sanitization are vital to prevent the spread of norovirus,” the government said in a statement June 3. “These are being promoted throughout the TCI. Public health teams continue to conduct active surveillance at airports and affected hotels to educate and monitor the implementation of these measures.” The team asks that anyone who experiences the symptoms to report to any health care facility for evaluation and treatment. People who have been affected by the illness should contact the team at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 649-941-8316. The Ministry of Health says hand washing is the single most important preventative measure to decrease the risk of infection. Hand washing should be frequent and thorough (scrub soap into hands for at least 15 seconds before rinsing, then dry with paper towels, a clean towel or blower). The public is advised to:
If you become ill:
For more information on norovirus, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov/norovirus.
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| Last Updated on Friday, 08 June 2012 16:03 |
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