Dominican Republic Blames Jamaica for Norwalk Virus Campaign
Dominican Tourism Secretary Felix Jimenez charged the Jamaican government with fostering a negative campaign against his country, especially about the Norwalk virus.
It is so because Jamaica is feeling the competitive heat and seeing larger amounts of Canadian and U.S. visitors traveling to the Dominican Republic, Jimenez was quoted as argueing by local newspaper El Caribe.
Mr. Jimenez explained his Department has made teleconferences on all U.S. and Canadian news media, and has created a PR Division in other countries with a view to brush aside rumors about the presence of the above-mentioned virus in the Caribbean nation.
The Dominican senior official made those statements in response to Enrique de Marchena, chairman of the local Hotel & Restaurant Association (ASONAHORES is the Spanish acronym), who´s been very critical of the alleged low-profile attitude taken by the government in this matter.
Many American and Canadian tourists have called off their vacations in the Dominican Republic due to widespread rumors about a Norwalk virus outbreak in several part of the country.
According to Mr. Marchena, the response to the malaria outbreak was effective and the main goal was fulfilled. “However, that´s not been the case with the Norwalk virus,” he was quoted as saying.
The Norwalk virus is a highly contagious gastrointestinal disease caused by intake of poisoned food. The symptoms are usually nausea, vomiting, acute stomach aches and diarrhea. Nonetheless, it´s not considered a serious ailment.
