The Canadian Embassy in the Dominican Republic praised the efforts of the local health and tourism authorities in preventing and controlling malaria in the DR. Ambassador Adam Blackwell cited their professionalism and their swift response in dealing with the recent outbreak, and said he felt completely assured that the measures taken by the Pan-American Health Organization (OPS) would help mitigate the impact made on local tourism and keep the disease in check. These measures included preventative fumigation, sanitary facilities installed at construction sites in touristic areas and the implementation of a national plan that would encompass all areas of tourism in the country. In a letter sent to the Listin Diario’s editor, Blackwell emphasized the swelling numbers of Canadian vacationers who arrive in the country every year. He indicated that the 2004-05 season will see 180 flight arrivals per week and 500,000 Canadian tourists. These numbers would represent a significant increase over 2002, the year in which Blackwell arrived in the DR, when only 70 flights came per week and approximately 200,000 Canadians visited the DR.
Blackwell said that after he had held conversations with the Canadian media last week to outline all that was being done here, the alarming articles referring to malaria in the DR have stopped appearing in the press.