HUGE COVID GOP lawsuit
SPIKES IN THE
CARIBBEAN
in on the situation, Guyana’s main
opposition People’s National Congress
(PNC) blamed reckless indifference
on the part of government
officials for the spike, criticizing it
for organizing and supporting several
super spreader events over the
holidays.
“What is most concerning and
very worrying is that while other
groups are refused permission to
hold similar events, the government
is willing to risk the lives of
Guyanese to permit a group that
supports its political agenda to host
a super spreader event amidst the
COVID-19 pandemic,” that party
said.
In Trinidad, widely regarded as
the regional ground zero for infections,
deaths and hospitalizations,
officials have reported a steady
decline in numbers this week but
the 16 deaths on Tuesday reminded
officials that they still have a major
public health crisis on their hands.
A total of 3,082 people have died in
Trinidad and Tobago since March
of 2020 when infections were first
Caribbean L 12 ife, JANUARY 14-20, 2022
reported giving the republic the
unwanted title of the country with
the highest per capita mortality
rate. Two hundred and thirteen people
have died in the first 12 days of
this year so far.
As Jamaican officials grapple with
the safe reopening of schools, Prime
Minister Andrew Holness dampened
the hopes of critics and supporters
calling for an island shutdown.
“We are not going to shut down
again. I have been very clear in
parliament, very clear, absolutely
gone overboard to say that we are
not going back to lockdowns, so be
calm. I have said what the containment
strategy is. It is now in your
hands. Go and take the vaccine.
That is the strategy,” he told reporters.
He also said that schools will
remain open despite infections and
challenges staff and administrators
face.
As governments across the region
beg for adherence to protocols, Barbados
is facing the prospect of a
double whammy as campaigning
is intensifying ahead of snap general
elections on Jan. 19. Latest
figures indicated 567 positive cases
on Monday linked to activities in
December but officials say similarly
large numbers could confront medical
personnel in the weeks after the
polls. In all of the countries with
significant hikes, the January 2020
figures are in some cases more than
double the previous daily averages.
Meanwhile, tourism paradise, The
Bahamas, recorded 800 cases in a
single day at the weekend, while Bermuda
is also reporting highest daily
figures for the past two years. Government
spokesman, Clint Watson
said action was being taken.
“We have opened four tents at the
Princess Margaret Hospital. We are
building capacity not only in infrastructure
but also in manpower.
We’ve asked the department of public
health to lend us nurses to ease
the burden felt because of those
medical professionals in quarantine,”
he said as authorities are
expecting a batch of 50 nurses from
neighboring Cuba this week.
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law to vote in municipal elections.
Before the bill’s passage, NYIC said
nearly one million New York City residents
could not vote in local elections
due to their citizenship status, “despite
paying taxes and being invested in and
contributing to the city.”
Prior to pushing for its passage,
NYIC said it, assisted by a pro-bono
legal team, conducted a “rigorous legal
review of Intro 1867 and found that the
bill did not violate New York State’s electoral
laws or its constitution.”
“Unable to gain popular backing for
their blatant efforts to suppress and
deny certain New Yorkers the right to
vote, the Republicans have taken their
obviously anti-immigrant and racist
agenda to the courts,” NYIC Executive
Director, Murad Awawdeh told Caribbean
Life. “We won’t allow members of
a political party that has yet to accept
the results of the 2020 Presidential
elections or acknowledge their role in a
violent insurrection against our democracy
to subvert the will of New Yorkers
through a baseless lawsuit.
“The Our City, Our Vote law ensures
that NYC has the most inclusive democracy
in the entire nation by allowing
New Yorkers who live here, raise children
here and give back to our neighborhoods
in countless ways can have
a say in the direction of our city,” he
added.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew
Holness. Jamaica Information Service /
Yhomo Hutchinson