ICANN reschedules Puerto Rico meeting for March 2018.
ICANN plans to return to Puerto Rico for its March 2018 meeting after moving the Fall 2016 meeting due to concerns over the Zika Virus.
Whether or not you agree with ICANN’s decision to move this year’s meeting out of Puerto Rico, it doesn’t seem that the situation on the ground in Puerto Rico has changed that much.
Yes, the World Health Organization has declared an end to its “global health emergency” over the spread of the Zika virus. But it’s still very active in Puerto Rico.
Dr. Peter Salama, executive director of the W.H.O.’s health emergencies program, said, “We are not downgrading the importance of Zika. We are sending the message that Zika is here to stay and the W.H.O. response is here to stay.”
Indeed, at the end of last month, Puerto Rico officials announced there were 500 new cases of Zika reported in Puerto Rico in just one week.
Hopefully rescheduling for 2018 will give ICANN more time to understand the threat of Zika, and a lot can change between now and then. But I wouldn’t book your travel to Puerto Rico just yet.
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