As of yet, I don't think anyone involved with Peace Corps Mexico has gotten sick. Although the available news is starting to look like the outbreak may not be as bad as first feared, the decision by the WHO to raise the pandemic alert to level 5 has had a pretty major effect on all of us Trainees & Volunteers here in Mexico. The training trip to Oaxaca I mentioned in the last entry has now been officially canceled, and has now been replaced with a week-long training exercise closer to home. A previous group of Volunteers who are going to finish service at the end of May were supposed to come to Querétaro next week for a conference, as were another group for their mid-service conference. Of course, both of these conferences have been canceled since we're all supposed to avoid public transportation. While it would have been nice to officially meet all of these other volunteers, the cancellation which most directly affects me is that our swearing-in ceremony, which would have involved several people from the US & Mexican governments, also looks like it will be canceled. We will still swear in, of course, but without all the ceremonial stuff. While this is kind of disappointing, just think: how many other Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV's) can say they finished training and swore in at the center of a world-wide infectious disease pandemic!
Peace Corps Volunteer "Jensen's Travels: Colorado to Guanajuato" writes: Here's a new update on the Peace Corps situation from here in Mexico
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Dispaches From a Swine Flu Hotzone: part 2
Caption: Some catholics gathered at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City on April 27, 2009. They prayed for the sick people, the government and the rest of the society. Hoping they make "good decisions" about the swine flu epidemic in our country. Photo: Pidiendo por el fin de la epidemia by sarihuella Flickr Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic
Here's a new update on the Peace Corps situation from here in Mexico. As of yet, I don't think anyone involved with Peace Corps Mexico has gotten sick. Although the available news is starting to look like the outbreak may not be as bad as first feared, the decision by the WHO to raise the pandemic alert to level 5 has had a pretty major effect on all of us Trainees & Volunteers here in Mexico.
The training trip to Oaxaca I mentioned in the last entry has now been officially canceled, and has now been replaced with a week-long training exercise closer to home. A previous group of Volunteers who are going to finish service at the end of May were supposed to come to Querétaro next week for a conference, as were another group for their mid-service conference. Of course, both of these conferences have been canceled since we're all supposed to avoid public transportation. While it would have been nice to officially meet all of these other volunteers, the cancellation which most directly affects me is that our swearing-in ceremony, which would have involved several people from the US & Mexican governments, also looks like it will be canceled. We will still swear in, of course, but without all the ceremonial stuff. While this is kind of disappointing, just think: how many other Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV's) can say they finished training and swore in at the center of a world-wide infectious disease pandemic!
