Cuban migrant dead from H1N1

THE DEATH of a Cuban migrant diagnosed with the influenza virus H1N1, in a Chiriqui hospital has set off alarm bells among other migrants seeking to get to the USA, and the Ministry of Health (MoH) has moved to take measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
Ruben Ramos Casas, 53, arrived  from Colombia, and moved from Darien to Chiriqui where he died at the Rafael Hernandez Hospital, in David, on January 3,

According to the MoH, Ramos Casas came through Panama’s border with Colombia, then moved to the El Progreso, Chiriquí.
He was evaluated in outpatients and then admitted to the hospital, where he died of a severe respiratory illness.
The MoH has taken a series of preventive actions, including a day of vector monitoring and vaccinations,
The Cuban was in a shelter waiting to be granted permission to continue to the United States.
The case has caused unease among other Cubans who are on Panama’s border with Costa Rica and they have called on the authorities to conduct a health inspection.
They have also asked the Panamanian government to give them permission to work, because they don’t know when they will be able leave the country.