Nearly half of the 70 mayors who were to join the 2nd Annual Pacific Mayors' Conference in the Northern Marianas cancelled their trip at the last minute due to the swine flu scare.
The president of the Association of Pacific Islands Local Government, Paul McDonald,
says the mayors cancelled after unconfirmed reports of cases of the H1N1 virus in Guam.
But the CNMI Department of Public Health was quick to scotch this rumour, saying there is no truth to it.
Mr Mcdonald, who is the Mayor of Agana Heights, Guam, says only 40 mayors are expected to join the event, including 12 from Guam.
He says 19 Guam mayors originally wanted to attend.