Pandemic declared, travel NOT discouraged

THE World Health Organization (WHO) DOES NOT recommend border closures or restrictions, as it raises the Influenza A(H1N1) alert level from five to six, effectively declaring its first influenza pandemic in four decades.

In response to TTG Asia's query, WHO's external relations officer, Ms Thea Emmerling, said: "WHO DOES NOT recommend any border closure or travel restrictions. Under the International Health Regulations, countries have the duty to give a public health justification for the measures they take and WHO is asking them to provide this explanation. Countries are progressively lifting the bans that were initially imposed."

Singapore Airlines vice president public affairs, Mr Nick Ionides, noted while there have been some cancellations and changes in itinerary, it was not possible to attribute these to the H1N1 outbreak as the airline does not require customers to cite their reasons for doing so.

Lufthansa's head of corporate communications Asia Pacific, Mr Frank Puettmann, said: "Lufthansa sees a considerable improvement in how the current H1N1 influenza threat is managed by the authorities, governments and international organisations. The world, and especially the Asia-Pacific region, has learned a lot from the SARS outbreak some six years ago. We see very efficient and appropriate measures today and no hysteria and concerns from our passengers. We do not expect any negative effects on air travel."

News extracted from: TTG