CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
Barbados
Government and health official from
across the Caribbean recently held
emergency talks in Barbados to discuss
the impact of the coronavirus COVID-
19.
The meeting, which
was chaired by CARICOM
Chairman Prime
Minister, Mia Mottley
of Barbados, was
aimed at developing a common CARICOM
position regarding the virus as
it relates to the tourism sector given
differing positions on cruise ships and
airlines operating in the Caribbean.
Recently, some CARICOM countries
have prevented cruise liners from docking
at their ports after some passengers
were reported to have been suffering
from the virus.
It was felt there is a need for a unified
position on the matter, not only as it
relates to the tourism sector, but other
sectors of the economy.
The meeting was also attended by
senior officials of US-based cruise liners
as well as regional airlines.
In addition, representatives from
the Pan American Health Organization
(PAHO), the Carib bean Public Health
Agency (CARPHA), the Caribbean Community
Implementation Agency for
Crime and Security and the Caribbean
Disaster Emergency Management
Agency (CDEMA) were in attendance.
Caribbean
Three Caribbean nationals have been
included among 16 individuals including
innovators, activists and entrepreneurs
from 12 countries who have been
shortlisted for this year’s Commonwealth
Youth Awards.
A pan-Commonwealth
judging panel
met recently and
selected the top individuals
in each of the
award’s four regional categories with
two Jamaicans and a Guyanese emerging
from the Caribbean and Canada
group.
The London-based Commonwealth
Secretariat said that this year the
awards received more than 500 entries
from 40 countries.
A release said: “Of those shortlisted,
the top candidate from each region will
be named as a regional winner. One of
these four regional winners will become
the Commonwealth Young Person of
the Year 2020,” it said, adding that the
16 finalists will each receive a trophy, a
certificate and US$3,886.50.
The overall pan-Commonwealth
winner will take home a total of
US$6,477.30.
According to the Commonwealth
Secretariat, the three Caribbean winners
are Lalita Gopual from Guyana
Caribbean L 4 ife, March 13-19, 2020
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and Jamaicans Stephen McCubbin and
Samuel Neil.
Guyana
The Guyana-based Caribbean Community
(CARICOM) Secretariat says St.
Lucia has become the first member
state to convene broad-based national
consultations to inform the population
on the development of the resultsfocused
Community Strategic Plan
from 2020.
The Secretariat said
that it is coordinating
the project across the
15-member grouping
and that the consultations
in Castries recently brought
together a wide range of stakeholders
from the public, private, and the notfor
profit sectors including the youth,
the media, labor, non-governmental
and civil society organizations.
It said participants’ engagement and
participation in the discussion “demonstrated
their deep interest in CARICOM,
as they made valuable recommendations
and proposals on a wide range
of issues and priorities relation to the
regional integration and development
agendas.”
Grenada
The Grenada government is pumping
$2million in preparation for the Chinese
killer virus COVD-19.
PM Dr. Keith Mitchell in making the
announcement said that the government
is not leaving anything to chance
as it relates to protecting the health of
its population and is using the money
to bolster its coronavirus preparations.
He said with cases now being reported
in the region it is no longer about it
reaching Grenada’s shores, but when it
reaches.
“We will not spare
any efforts in ensuring
all necessary measures
are in place to protect
our country. We stand
prepared to increase that figure if necessary,
as the situation unfolds,” Dr.
Mitchell said.
He said investments will be made in
the procurement of medical apparatus
to further equip hospitals and community
centers and outfit treatment
centers.
Dr. Mitchell said the ministries of
Health and National Security are further
strengthening border control
efforts to ensure all measures are related
to health are continued.
Jamaica
Prime Minister, Andrew Holness has
pointed out that in the fight against
crime, government has always been
mindful of individuals’ human rights
and will never stoop to giving criminals
a taste of their own medicine.
“We have to let criminals know that
we will never descend to their level of
savagery and incivility,” he said, adding,
“the challenge of course, is that we end
up violating our own constitution.”
In fact, Holness argued that for the
past four years, Jamaica has not been
accused of any human rights violations.
The prime minister
said there is no international
human rights
agency that can point
a finger at Jamaica’s
human rights record over the last two,
three, or four years,
He moved to dispel the notion that
the murder rate, which has been escalating
for more than four decades, could
suddenly be overturned.
St. Lucia
St. Lucia Customs Officers have discovered
several handguns and two rifles
in a barrel during a routine check, law
enforcement officers said.
There are reports
that the weapons
included nine handguns
were among
a large quantity of
ammunition.
According to information, the rifles
and handguns were broken down into
parts and hidden among grocery items
along with ammunition.
The country of origin of the barrel
with the guns was not immediately
Continued on Page 18
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