No dengue threat to U-17 Women’s World Cup in TT

Works and Transport Minister Jack Warner is also FIFA vice-president and the driving force behind the staging of two World Cups in Trinidad and Tobago.

The first was the Under-17 Men’s World Cup in 2001 which featured future stars including Fernando Torres, Carlos Tevez, Javier Mascherano, Nico Kranjcar, Deigo and Andres Iniesta.

Speaking at the post-Cabinet news conference yesterday, Baptiste-Cornelis said : “Works have already started in terms of our preparation to deal with them (teams, officials and other persons coming to TT for the tournament) hospital wise.

“We do not foresee that this will cause a problem. Dengue as you know is going on throughout the Caribbean and as far as Miami. It has not shutdown operations any activities throughout and we do not anticipate that it should in our country either.”

Baptiste-Cornelis said additional measures are being taken by the Health Ministry and local government corporations are coming on board with dengue control operations.

“We should be able to handle the next swing of dengue that comes through the country,” she said yesterday.The Health Minister added that the ministry expected that this would happen within the next three weeks.

Last year the Caribbean Games, which were to be held for the first time and hosted by Trinidad and Tobago were cancelled because of the threat of A-H1N1 virus commonly known as “swine flu.”

On July 30, Sport and Youth Affairs Minister Anil Roberts said $55 million in contracts were signed to stage the Caribbean Games.

Baptiste-Cornelis also said separate panels are investigating the reported dengue deaths of 19-year old Shiraz Khan and 12-year-old Vernissa Doon.

These panels will report their findings to Attorney General Anand Ramlogan by August 20.

She added that dengue protocols at all Regional Health Authorities are being strengthened and by Monday a customer complaints committee will be receiving reports from persons who feel aggrieved about the treatment they receive at public health institutions with respect to dengue.

Baptiste-Cornelis said within six months, this committee will submit a report on its findings to Cabinet.

Corporate TT backs Women’s Under-17 Football World Cup.
T&T Newsday Reports.

The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup is exactly one month away and Corporate Trinidad and Tobago is throwing its full support behind the event.

The Local Organising Committee for the Tournament launched their first wave of corporate ticket distribution at its office located at St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain yesterday.

Representatives from Neal and Massy Automotive Limited became the first corporate sponsors to collect tickets and LOC Officials say over the next week dozens of companies will follow suit.

Deputy CEO of the Local Organising Committee Nataki Kerr has described the response as “unparalleled”.

“Corporate Trinidad and Tobago plays an integral and essential role in the success of this tournament. The response from corporate citizens has been nothing less than phenomenal.

“The fact that companies are willing to give back to this nation is not only another true demonstration of the spirit of the beautiful game but it is a representation of the essence of this competition. I would like to express our profound gratitude to corporate TT for going well beyond the call of duty”

The tickets purchased by corporate Trinidad and Tobago will be distributed to various schools throughout the country.

Commenting on the initiative Kerr said: “The FIFA U-17 WWC is about giving back, sharing and improving the lives of our citizens. We needed to ensure that this competition is accessible to all, but most importantly to our children.

“This corporate initiative is yet another example of how we intend to partner with our various stakeholders to give back to the nation.”

Ticket distributions continue around the country. For further information please call 800-FANS (3267).