CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
ANTIGUA
The Antigua and Barbuda government
has given Monday, Sept. 27 a
deadline for all unvaccinated public
sector workers to show proof of having
been vaccinated against the COVID-19
virus.
A policy document released a week
ago also outlines similar measures for
people operating public transport, the
trade union movement, private sector
employees as well
as arriving passengers
into the country.
In the policy statement,
Prime Minister
Gaston Browne’s
administration said the measure regarding
vaccinations will include workers in
the public service, statutory corporations
and companies in which the government
holds majority shares.
It said that with effect from Oct. 1,
all unvaccinated public sector employees,
inclusive of statutory corporations
of which the government hold majority
shares, shall be required to remain at
home until proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
In addition all officers of the Royal
Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda
and the Antigua and Barbuda Defense
Force are required to be vaccinated
effective Oct. 1.
It noted also that all arriving passengers,
including returning nationals and
residents, are required to have received
at least the first dose of a vaccine
approved by the appropriate authorities
in Antigua and Barbuda.
BARBADOS
Barbados Minister of Health and
Wellness, Jeffrey Bostic
announced last
week that there is
“widespread community
transmission” of
COVID-19 and that the
country was being impacted by the
Delta variant.
He also disclosed that many clusters
exist in the south of the island.
Speaking at a COVID-19 update news
conference, Bostic said that the latest
figures show that 14 families, ranging
from two to seven persons in each, had
been impacted and that 142 families had
been affected from Aug. 1 to Sept. 17.
There were 95 new cases from 1,686
tests conducted by the Best-dos Santos
Public Health Laboratory.
He also spoke about the lives that had
been lost due to COVID-19, especially
those occurred over the past week.
A 58-year-old man became the 58th
death of COVID-19.
The minister said all six persons who
died recently were unvaccinated.
He also mentioned other figures
that show how the country was being
Caribbean L 4 ife, OCTOBER 1-7, 2021
Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne. Gov’t of Antigua and Barbuda
impacted by the Delta variant.
CARIBBEAN
Leaders of the Eastern Caribbean
States (OECS) have been told there is
“ample provision” in their constitutions
to support mandatory vaccination
laws as the sub-region continues
the battle to curb the
spread of the COVIDovid
19 pandemic
that has affected hundreds
of their citizens
and killing a significant
number of others since March last
year.
In addition, the governments of Antigua
and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada,
St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines,
St. Kitts and Nevis and Montserrat
have been informed that there are
correspondence jurisprudence and
medical data to support the position of
mandatory vaccination.
The issue of mandatory vaccination
has surfaced not only in the OECS
countries but also in the wider Caribbean
Community where governments
have been urging their nationals to be
vaccinated as part of the efforts to curb
the spread of the virus that has led to
the closure of borders, a crippling of
economies and stringent policies such
as curfews and states of emergency
(SoE).
GUYANA
Guyana says it expects to deposit
more than US$500 million into the
National Resources Fund (NRF) by the
end of this year.
Minister of National Resources, Vickram
Bharrat said the country is also
due to export a million barrels of oil in
the coming weeks and another million
before the end of the year and that both
exports will have an average revenue of
US$70 million.
“You can safely say that before the
end of 2021, we will have nearly half
a billion United States dollars in the
Natural Resource Fund, that is intact
and not a cent has been spent from it,”
he said.
Bharrat said that so
far, seven million barrels
of oil have been
sold on the international
market.
He said that the government has
indicated that no money would be spent
from the fund unless there is parliamentary
approval, reminding national
that the Natural Resource Fund Act was
passed in 2019.
GRENADA
The Grenada Technical and Allied
Workers Union (GTAWU) is calling on
workers to get vaccinated against the
COVID-19 virus amid
an increase in cases
over the past few
weeks.
GTAWU, one of the
most powerful trade unions in Grenada,
also urged all Grenadians to comply
with the requirements of the COVID-19
health and safety protocols.
The union’s President General, Andre
Lewis, who signed the memo, said the
current rate of transmission of COVID-
19 on the island is significant and the
union must play a role in reducing the
spread of the virus linked to 55 deaths
and more than 3,000 infections since
January 2020 to Sept. 20, 2021.
Lewis said the union is of the view
that the 48 hours or two days only for
quarantine for vaccinated people entering
the island posed a serious risk to
the population.
He said based on recent developments
this was not in the best interest
of the people.
Continued on Page 18
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Antigua sets COVID-19 vaccine mandates
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