- outbreak of H1N1 virus cited

President of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) K.A. Juman Yassin says  he is quite surprised and very disenchanted by the postponement of the inaugural Caribbean Games which was scheduled for Trinidad and Tobago from July 12-19.

News out of the Twin Island Republic states that due to the outbreak of the H1N1 Virus (Swine Flu) it would be fit for the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC), who is responsible for  organizing the games, to put it off to avoid a further spread.

K.A Juman Yassin

Yassin told Stabroek Sport that the new development has caught him by surprise, and he only learned about it via an e-mail from the CANOC and the games organizing committee.

“I must say that I’m very disappointed and a bit surprised of this because it was not expected,” the GOA boss noted in his short statement about the games.

Several sections of the media in Trinidad reported that the games had been cancelled but Yassin said: “Well in the e-mail that was sent to me which I shared with you (Stabroek News) says that it has been postponed and that’s all I can say at the moment based on what I was told, OK.”

The e-mail stated that CANOC has received word from the Government of Trinidad and Tobago that its Ministry of Health, acting on information from the Pan American Health organistion (PAHO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), has advised that the prevalence of “Influenza A, H1N1” has guided them to conclude that it would be prudent at this stage to consider postponement of the inaugural edition of Caribbean Games.

Yassin said that there is supposed to be a meeting with the National Olympic Committee (NOC) which is  affiliated to the CANOC to discus the games in two weeks, but he was not permitted to say if that meeting would go on as planned.

So far it is reported that 11 persons were officially diagnosed with the Swine Flu in Trinidad and Tobago and also several Surinamese volleyball players who took part in a tournament on the island reportedly came down with the symptoms upon returning home.

It is not yet known if the games would be relocated to another country or will have to wait until the next edition which is scheduled for Cuba in 2013.