CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
Barbados
Barbados has placed the United
Kingdom in the category of “high risk”
countries as the UK deals with a new
wave of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
The Ministry of Health and Wellness
said seven more persons died from
COVID-19, while the country recorded
206 new cases of the virus up to last
week.
Minister of Tourism and International
Transport, Lisa
Cummins said the
Ministry of Health has
been closely monitoring
the developments
in the UK, particularly
the surge in their COVID-19 numbers
with recent weeks, which Prime Minister
Borris Johnson referred to as a
second wave.
She said these large increases are
of concern to public health officials,
who have recommended the new classification
of the UK to the High-Risk
category.
Cummins said the Ministry of Health
and Wellness, in conjunction with the
Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc.
released the country’s update travel
protocols, which will see the UK moving
to the high-risk category, effective
Oct. 1, 2020.
According to the authorities in Barbados,
visitors traveling from the United
Kingdom, in addition to the mandatory
COVID-19 PCR test taken at least
72 hours prior to arrival in Barbados,
will now also be required to undergo a
second COVID-19 PCR test in Barbados,
five days after the date of their first
accepted test.
The authorities said until the second
test is taken, visitors from the UK will
remain in hotels designated by the Ministry
of Health and Wellness and their
movements will be restricted.
Caribbean
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
recently launched its third Caribbean
Hub sub-program of the multilateral
environment agreements project
in the African, Caribbean and Pacific
(ACP) grouping.
The Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat
said that the program is funded
under the European
Commission-United
Nations Environment
Capacity building initiative.
CARICOM Secretary General, Irwin
La Rocque and acting director of the
United Nations Environment Program
(UN Environment) Arnold Kreilhuber
have signed an agreement approving
continued capacity building related to
multilateral environmental agreements
support for the region.
The Secretariat said the aim is to
Caribbean L 6 ife, October 16-22, 2020
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Lawyers hold signs at the end of a march to demand justice after the killing, on Aug. 28, of the lawyer and President of the Bar
of Lawyers of Port-au-Prince Monferrier Dorval, in the streets of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Oct. 5, 2020. REUTERS / Andres Martinez
Casares, File
empower key stakeholders to address
environmental challenges and to reap
the benefits of improved management
at the national and regional levels.
The CARICOM Secretariat has hosted
the Caribbean Hub from 2009 and
throughout the first two phases of the
program.
The Hub has worked to mainstream
the relevant conventions on biodiversity,
chemicals and waste management
into institutions and national development
plans by promoting an integrated
and synergistic approach to environmental
management.
Cayman Islands
Implementation of the same sex law
in the Cayman Islands went into effect
recently.
The Civil Partnership Law will enable
same-sex couples to file for and have
register civil partnerships in the Cayman
Islands.
According to the
Government Information
Service, the regulations
were gazetted
after being approved
by Governor Martyn
Roper in consultation with Premier
Alden McLaughlin.
The Civil Partnership Law was passed
by the governor in August, days after
similar legislation was voted down by
Cayman’s lawmakers.
Roper has said that he, as the UK’s
representative in Cayman, had no
option but to step in to ensure Cayman
complied with the rule of law and international
obligations under the terms of
the European Convention on Human
Rights.
The Civil Partnership Law will provide
same-sex couples with a legal
framework equivalent to marriage,
which is currently restricted to heterosexual
couples under Cayman’s Marriage
Law.
The new regulations outline how
couples can apply for a civil partnership
license.
Guyana
Investigations are continuing into
the recent attempted prison break that
resulted in the deaths of two inmates
and injuries to five others.
The riot occurred after Minister of
Home Affairs, Robeson Benn and Minister
of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony were
forced to exit the Lusignan Prison on
the East Coast of Demerara after some
prisoners became
hostile and began to
throw missiles.
The situation deteriorated
and resulted
in prison officers shooting seven
inmates who tried to escape, resulting
in the deaths of two prisoners.
The dead prisoners have been identified
as Earl Graham, 51 and 21-year-old
Winston Herbert.
In a statement, the Guyana Prison
Service (GPS) said that Graham was
serving a three-month jail term for
malicious wounding, assault and resisting
arrest, while Herbert was in custody
for rape.
The GPS said that the five other
inmates are in a stable condition at the
Georgetown Public Hospital and at the
Lusignan Prison.
Haiti
Haiti is the only Caribbean country
that will benefit from a decision by the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) to
be provided with a second six-month
tranche of US$227 million of debt service
relief for 28 member countries under
the Catastrophe and Containment and
Relief Trust (CCRT).
The IMF said that
this latest approval
follows the first
six-month tranche
approve in April this
year and enables the disbursement of
grants from the CCRT for payment of
eligible debt service falling due to the
IMF from Oct. 14, 2020 to April 21,
2021, estimated at US$227 million.
It said relief on debt service will free
up scarce financial resources for vital
emergency medical and other relief
efforts while these members combat the
impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19)
pandemic.
Continued on Page 16
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Haitian lawyers protest colleague’s murder
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