CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
BARBADOS
Barbados Prime Minister, Mia Mottley
has called for a global summit
for coordinated action on a number
of areas pertaining to the Covid-19
pandemic.
Speaking at the Grantley Adams
International Airport during a handover
ceremony recently of 33,600 Covid-
19 vaccines under the Covax Facility,
she reiterated the need for the global
summit.
“If ever there is a
need for the world
to stand up and recognize
that we need
a global summit for
coordinated action with respect to how
we treat to the Covid-19 pandemic,
how we treat to the equitable distribution
of vaccines, how we treat to the
restricted movement of people and
countries in a coordinated way to give
the global community the best chance
of putting this behind us, it is now,”
Mottley said.
She insisted that, at the global level,
there was nothing stopping leaders
from hosting a global summit, other
than themselves.
The prime minister said she was
hopeful that the global community
would rise to the challenge of the
global coordination, pointing out that
no country could win the battle on its
own.
CARIBBEAN
The University of the West Indies
(UWI) has welcomed the appointment
of Belizean economist, Dr. Carla Barnett
as the Secretary General of the
CARICOM grouping, acknowledging
“the two-time UWI graduate has made
history as the first
woman to be appointed
to the post”.
Regional leaders
recently named Barnett
as the new CARICOM Secretary-
General during a special meeting to
discuss the recommendations of the
Community Council of Ministers.
Barnett, the eight person to be
appointed to the top regional public
service post, will take up office in
August, replacing Dominica diplomat,
Irwin La Roche, who has been in the
post since 2011.
She is the third UWI Alum to assume
the role of CARICOM Secretary-General,
following Ambassador Edwin Carrington
and Ambassador Roderick
Rainford, UWI said in a statement.
Dr. Barnett previously served as
deputy Secretary-General of CARICOM,
vice-president of the Senate in
her country and had also served in
various ministerial capacities.
She also served as deputy governor
of the Central Bank of Belize, among
Caribbean L 4 ife, MAY 28-JUNE 3, 2021
Updated daily at www.caribbeanlifenews.com
Barbados Prime Minister, Mia Mottley. Photo by George Alleyne
her other leadership roles.
GRENADA
The state of emergency in Grenada,
which was put in place to contain and
control the spread of Covid-19 and
is scheduled to expire
on July 14, is set to
be extended until
November.
The House of Representatives,
where the ruling New
National Party (PNP) occupies all seat
will soon meet to approve the extension.
Under the state of emergency, the
Emergency Powers Act is activated
providing legal guidelines for the
movement of citizens and the operation
of business.
Restrictions under the current state
of emergency include a midnight to 4
am curfew, the mandatory wearing of
face masks or face coverings in public,
closure of all business by 10 pm and no
social gatherings without permission.
Violators of the Emergency Powers
Act can be fined a maximum of
EC$1,000 or 12 months in jail, violations
of the quarantine regulations
can face a fine of EC$25,000.
GUYANA
Guyana has made it mandatory for
anyone entering the country to still
require the RT-PCR (reverse transcription
polymerase
chain reaction) test,
even if they are considered
to be fully vaccinated
against the
Covid-19 pandemic.
Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony
said there is still a small risk that
people could be infected despite taking
a vaccine.
“Because we don’t know who may
have a milder form of the disease or get
that risk of bringing the infection, that
is why we still require that people get
their PCR testing, ” he said.
Guyana has had more than 50
imported cases, mainly entering
through the Cheddi Jagan International
Airport.
Dr. Anthony noted there is no prohibition
on who can travel to Guyana due
to Covid-19, with the only requirement
being they get a negative PCR test.
He said some 169,981 persons have
already received their first dose of
either AstraZeneca, Sinopharm or
Sputnix Covid-19 vaccine.
The number of persons who took
the first dose of either of the vaccines
have received more than 34,000 of the
second dose.
HAITI
As of the end
of April, only 254
deaths were attributed
to Covid-19 in
Haiti over the course of the entire
pandemic.
The Caribbean nation, which often
struggles with infectious diseases has
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Barbados calls for Covid summit
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