IAMCR president, Annabelle Sreberny, and Aimée Vega Montiel, Chair of the Local Organising Committee of IAMCR's 2009 conference in Mexico have confirmed that the conference will proceed as planned from 21-24 July 2009. They also announced that in recognition of the difficulties encountered by some conference participants, the deadline for registering at reduced early registration fees will be extended to 15 July.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is not recommending any
travel restrictions, since limiting travel would have very little
effect on stopping the H1N1 virus from spreading and would be highly
disruptive to the global community. WHO has raised the level of the
H1N1 influenza alert to phase 6, which means that it is spreading,
while the overall severity has weakened.
The overall assessment means that, by following some basic measures,
people can minimize the risks of infection. All the sanitary measures
recommended by WHO are still current in Mexico. Based on reports from
WHO and the Mexican authorities, there is evidence that the Mexican
outbreak is slowing down.
In addition, other countries are now seeing increasing numbers of cases
not associated with travel to Mexico, which shows that the severity of
the virus can change over time and differ by location or population.
Based on these reports, and with due regard to the safety of all our
members, the IAMCR Executive Board and the Local Organising Committee
confirm again that our conference in Mexico City will go ahead as
planned.
In recognition of the difficulties in travelling to Mexico that are
still imposed in some countries, we are extending the early
registration date till July 15, 2009.
Salud!
Annabelle Sreberny Aimée Vega Montiel
President, IAMCR Chair of the Local Organising Committee