MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Regional News.

Headlines:
Award for Lan Chile; A Socialist lady for Magallanes; Massive influenza vaccination.

Award for Lan Chile

Lan Chile for the third consecutive year was chosen as the best airline in the Caribbean, Central and South America, according to the prestigious United States Official Airline Guide, OAG, a leading publication in business travel. The nomination is the result of a poll among business travellers all over the world who were asked to name the top international carriers. This year's ceremony was held in London with the participation of the most important representatives of the air travel industry. "This is particularly outstanding for Lan Chile since it reflects the opinion of experienced, frequent, demanding travellers from all over the world. It fills us of pride and is an incentive to keep achieving the highest standards of air quality travel", indicated Luis Ernesto Videla, Lan Chile's General Manager. OAG annually rewards those companies and airports that have sustained the highest standards in the industry following the opinion of travellers all round the world. This edition included 47 carriers, 5 airports with 19 regional and global prizes. "It's an annual opportunity to publicly recognise and underline the highest standards of the industry globally", said Bill Andres OAG Senior Vice President.

A Socialist lady for Magallanes

Chilean president Ricardo Lagos completed the reshuffling of municipal and regional authorities in Magallanes Region with the nomination of Ms. Ana María Pérez (52) as Magallanes next governor. Ms. Pérez comes from the Socialist Party, the same as President Lagos, and is a Spanish Language Professor from the University of Chile. She moved to Punta Arenas several years ago and was elected Councillor in 1999. Ms. Pérez according to her official CV since 1988 has had an active participation in politics teaching Democracy, Politics and Elections in schools, neighbourhoods and non government organizations. She also was a member of the Teachers Union of Magallanes and as a municipal Councillor has responsibility over the Health, Education, Community Development and Drugs Committees.

Massive influenza vaccination

Last week the anti influenza vaccination campaign in Punta Arenas ended with the inoculation of 14,000 residents belonging to the so called "vulnerable" members of the community. The Punta Arenas chapter was part of a national campaign launched by the Chilean government sanitary authorities in an attempt to prepare the population for the coming winter particularly among those over 65 and the chronically ill. Eduardo Velásquez head of the Epidemiological and Statistic Unit of the Punta Arenas Health Service indicated the campaign was a "success" and praised the local Red Cross for its help. Vaccination was concentrated in public hospitals and Public Health clinics and dispensaries. Chilean authorities stressed that the influenza vaccination is independent from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome that started in China and is rapidly extending to Asia and other countries. Chile confirmed legislation that enables local authorities to quarantine any SARS suspects or SARS symptoms arriving passengers.