First responders to receive kits to prevent flu infection

While Belize has not confirmed any case of the Influenza A H1N1, three more samples were sent for testing at CAREC in Trinidad last Friday. Those results were expected this evening, but up to news time tonight, they have not arrived in the Jewel and preparations for the possibility of the flu pandemic continue. It is known that over four thousand doses of Oseltamivir, the generic drug used in the popular influenza medication Tamiflu, have been acquired. The drug is being stockpiled in case of an outbreak of the flu. Meanwhile, the United States Air Force, as part of its goodwill, has decided to donate kits to first responders in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras and Nicaragua. Earlier today, the Air Force’s C-seventeen Globemaster was loaded with thirty thousand personal protection kits with disposable respirators capable of screening ninety-five percent of particles, safety goggles, disposable overalls, gloves, shoe covers, aprons, and infectious waste bags with biohazard symbols. The shipment valued at four hundred and fifty thousand dollars left the Charleston Air force base in South Carolina after six this morning. And during its forty-eight hour mission, Belize is expected to receive five thousand personal protection kits. These kits will be consigned to first responders such as nurses, posted at the country’s northern and western borders to inspect visitors and residents for flu-like symptoms.