Brooklyn Borough President, Eric Adams. REUTERS / Eduardo Munoz
Caribbean Life, August 14-20, 2020 5
By Nelson A. King
Although the United States has the
highest number of people suffering or
killed by the coronavirus (COVID-19),
the Trump administration has, ironically,
warned US nationals against
travelling to several Caribbean countries
because of the pandemic.
On Aug. 7, the Atlanta-based US
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) updated its travel
health notices for several countries in
the Caribbean region, placing them
under Level Warning 3.
This means US citizens should
avoid all nonessential travel to
those destinations due to the risk of
COVID-19, according to Loop News.
It said the countries
include: Montserrat, Belize, Bahamas,
St. Lucia, Grenada, Jamaica, Guyana,
Haiti, Martinique, St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, Barbados, St. Maarten,
Aruba, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts
and Nevis, Suriname, US Virgin
Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands,
Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic,
Curacao, Cuba, Guadeloupe, French
Guiana, Bermuda, Antigua and Barbuda,
and Anguilla.
The CDC said that if someone
gets sick with COVID-19 (or
tests positive for COVID-19, even
if they have no symptoms) while
abroad, “they may be isolated or not
be permitted to return to the United
States until they have fully recovered
from the illness.
“If a person is exposed to COVID-
19 while abroad, that person may be
quarantined or not be permitted to
return to the United States until 14
days after their last exposure,” the
CDC said.
Sunday night, Dominica Prime
Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said he
wrote US officials complaining about
the decision by Washington to place
Dominica and other Caribbean Community
(CARICOM) countries on a
list of high-risk countries to be avoided
by its nationals because of the
coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
By Nelson A. King
Brooklyn Borough President, Eric
Adams on Sunday appealed to Brooklynites
to complete the Census count,
saying that it was very paramount that
they do so.
“I am never going to stop fighting to
ensure every single Brooklynite is counted
ahead of the US Census’ self-response
deadline,” said Adams in an email message
to Brooklynites.
“With the Census Bureau ending all
counting efforts on Sept. 30, we need
to ramp up that fight and ensure that
Brooklyn — which, combined with the
other boroughs, has one of the lowest
self-response rates at 54 percent citywide
compared with 63 percent nationally —
gets the representation it deserves,” he
urged.
“More than 80 percent of Brooklynites
live in hard-to-count neighborhoods, and
one third all Brooklyn households did
not mail back their 2010 Census forms,”
he continued. “By filling out your 2020
Census form, you are helping to ensure
increased representation, particularly
among traditionally undercounted populations
such as the elderly, low-income,
undocumented, and young people, as
well as those for whom English is not
their first language.
“Time is running out and the sense of
urgency cannot be overstated,” Adams
said. “I implore you to fill out your 2020
Census form. And when you fill out your
form, get 10 people you know to fill theirs
out, too. We can do this, Brooklyn. Let’s
stand up and #MakeBrooklynCount!”
Last week, Public Advocate Jumaane
D. Williams strongly blasted President
Donald J. Trump after the US Census
Bureau announced it would end all
counting efforts for the 2020 Census on
Sept. 30, a month earlier than the previous
deadline.
“The Trump administration has
been transparent, blatant and shameless
in its efforts to undermine the 2020
Census, particularly by discounting metropolitan
areas and disregarding Black,
brown and immigrant communities,”
said Williams, the son of Grenadian
immigrants, on Wednesday.
“It has been rebuffed and rejected in
every past attempt, and changing the
deadline is a last-ditch effort toward these
same ends,” he added. “Ending the count
early all but ensures an undercount for
New York City, and a subsequent lack of
resources and representation.
“In the midst of a global pandemic, we
need more time to ensure an accurate
count, not less,” Williams continued.
“But this is an administration unconcerned
by inaccuracy, indifferent to the
consequences – particularly in communities
of more color.”
The Public Advocate noted that, in
New York City, an average of only 53 percent
of residents have completed the Census
– lagging behind both the statewide
and national average.
“If this trend continues, it could have a
devastating impact on New Yorkers’ voice
in government and the resources that
government provides,” he said. “The best
way to combat this failure by design, this
undercount by intention, is for each New
Yorker to complete the Census online
and to encourage their neighbors to do
the same.
“Many communities have had reason
to be distrustful of governments seeking
personal information, and it is incumbent
on us to reassure people of the security
and necessity of responding to the
Census in order to overcome that understandable
obstacle,” Williams added.
He said that while completing this
“simple form” takes less than 10 minutes,
“its impact – or the impact of not completing
it – will be felt in New York City
for more than 10 years.”
Two Sundays ago, a broad coalition of
elected officials, community groups and
Brooklyn residents marched through
South and Central Brooklyn on Sunday
to raise awareness about the census and
racial justice.
The “Census March for Racial Justice,”
organized by Brooklyn Democratic
Sen. Zellnor Y. Myrie and co-sponsored
by numerous Brooklyn elected officials,
began concurrently in Sunset Park and
Brownsville, and converged for a rally at
Grand Army Plaza.
“From infrastructure and healthcare,
to school funding and political representation,
the stakes for the 2020 Census
are impossible to overstate,” said Myrie,
the State Senate’s point person on the
Census, whose grandmother hailed from
Jamaica.
“Our communities have historically
been undercounted, underfunded and
underserved,” added the representative
for the 20th Senatorial District in Brooklyn.
“Once every decade, we have the
chance to show up, get counted and fight
for the dollars we deserve.
“Filling out the Census takes 10 minutes
to answer 10 questions, but the
impacts for our neighborhoods, city
and state last for 10 years,” continued
Myrie. “At a time when the federal government
wants to starve us of needed
resources, it is more important than ever
that everyone completes the Census, so
that Brooklyn counts 100 percent.”
Williams, who spoke at a rally at Grand
Army Plaza, at the culmination of the
march, said the Census is “a civil rights
issue.”
“It can also be an instrument of justice,
if all New Yorkers are counted,” he
said. “In the midst of a pandemic and a
protest movement, it’s even more clear
that our laws and our lives are shaped by
the need for a complete count.
“A commitment to count every household
in this city is a commitment to
ensuring communities of more color
across New York get the resources and
representation they are owed,” Williams
added.
Dominica’s Prime Minister
Roosevelt Skerrit.
REUTERS / Eduardo Munoz, File
Adams appeals to Brooklynites
to complete Census forms
US travel
advisory