Swine flu co-ordinating group

30 July 2009

The Chief Ministers Department has set up a system of regular meetings to better enable departments and ministers to respond effectively to future developments in the ongoing Swine Flu pandemic.

The Chief Ministers Department Co-ordinating Group will organise the States departments’ response to the pandemic and will support Health & Social Services’ management of the incident. The group will aim to ensure the States are as prepared as they can be to respond to a developing situation and will plan for an escalated response when necessary.  

The co-ordinating group will meet weekly until the situation changes and more frequent meetings are required.

A group of Ministers will also meet weekly to receive regular briefings and to provide a close political oversight on developments. They will assess recommendations made by the professionals who are managing the island’s day-to-day response to the pandemic. This group consists of the Chief Minister and the Ministers for Health, Education, Social Security and Treasury.  

The Chief Minister, Senator Terry Le Sueur, said: “Many of the decisions which will need to be made in the coming months will impact on a number of departments. For instance, decisions made to maintain the health of islanders could affect Social Security or Education, and will, more often than not, have financial implications for the Treasury. Ministers will be guided by professional advice from the Medical Officer of Health and her t​​eam.  

“Our objective remains to prolong the containment phase for as long as possible, and in order to do this we all need to practise good hygiene to slow the spread of the virus. The Catch it, Bin it, Kil​l it message is very important and will be reinforced with a high profile awareness campaign in the weeks to come.”

The full Emergencie​s Council is expected to be briefed on a regular basis from next month, to keep all members fully up to date as the situation develops.