BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — The recently opened Lodge/Ottley’s Community Centre will contribute to the well-being of the community and aid community spirit, according to Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Social Development, Mrs. Janelle Lewis-Tafari.

Mrs. Lewis-Tafari applauded the government for the progressive strides it has made over the past two decades with respect to social development, speaking at the February 16 Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and Grand Opening of the Ottley’s-Lodge Community Centre.

“The progressive strides that have been made towards the establishment of safe and secure community facilities are critical to the Government’s multi-dimensional agenda to spur the implementation of community-driven advancement programmes geared towards enriching the social and economic fabric of our society,” said Mrs. Lewis-Tafari.

“The centrality and versatility of these centers are aimed at promoting civic participation at community enrichment interventions, such as educational and vocational programmes, and other activities that will foster community cohesion and social solidarity,” she said. “In addition, the role of the centers also includes shelters following a disaster.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic among other critical factors has given the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis a stark reminder of the heightened priority that must be given to strengthening all communities to improve our socio-economic conditions and improve our resilience,” said Mrs. Lewis-Tafari.

“This is your golden opportunity” to improve upon and foster more community cohesion and social solidarity,” she told the residents of Lodge, Ottley’s, and their surrounding communities.

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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the pay-out of the initial mobilization funds to build a new Basseterre High School, according to Minister of Education, the Honourable Jonel Powell. He said the tendering process for the various aspects of the construction of the new school will begin in a few weeks.

“This project has faced some challenges on its own, but it is a project that is in the best interest of not just the students within the Basseterre area, but to the benefit of the people of St. Kitts and Nevis,” said Minister Powell.

The construction of the new school, which will be located at Pond’s Extension in East Basseterre, has been in the works since 2015.

In his contribution to the Budget Debate on December 18, 2020, Minister Powell noted that the construction has taken longer than anticipated. However, he is satisfied that the delays were within reason.

“We must ensure that in building an institution of this magnitude that it is done properly, that all the I’s are dotted all the T’s are crossed,” said Hon. Powell. “At the end of the day, we will have a school that will last for a very long time. It will set a new standard not just in St. Kitts and Nevis, but across the Caribbean Region.”

The modern Basseterre High School will feature 32 classrooms, a music centre with two dedicated music rooms, four science labs and six computer labs, a dedicated lecture room, counselling and health service facilities, an auditorium with seating capacity for a minimum of 1,200 persons and upgraded sporting facilities that will meet international standards.

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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts –- The healthcare system has successful improved during the most recent six years and built a system that ensures, ‘people first and quality always,’ according to Minister of Health, the Honourable Akilah Byron-Nisbett.
Minister Nisbett said that since 2015, Team Unity has built out a programme to reduce Non-communicable Diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart diseases, which account for 83 percent of deaths in St. Kitts and Nevis.

“As a result of this work between 2015 to 2020, the incidence of new cases of diabetes has decreased by 46.9 percent and new cases of hypertension decreased by 44.7 percent,” said Mrs. Byron-Nisbett. “The renovation work continuing at the Joseph N. France General Hospital. This marks phase three of the project.

“Patients are being cared for at the new oncology wing at the JNF General Hospital,” she said. “The Tabernacle Health Centre has been built and the ministry will continue its efforts to refurbish all other health centres.

“We have already started work at the St. Peter’s Health Centre and believe that facility will provide relief to that community. A small health centre has outgrown its use at this point,” she said. “This new facility will bring even more to the people of St. Peter’s and its surroundings and as a result add even more to our healthcare system.”

In terms of COVID-19, Mrs. Byron-Nisbett urged people to continue to follow the non-pharmaceutical measures.

“Yes, we are about to receive vaccines, and there are more on the way,” she explained. “We still have to ensure that we social distance, wear our masks, and follow all of our protocols to ensure that we continue to stay safe. We have come too far to turn back now, we can’t lose focus at this point.”

Mrs, Byron-Nisbett said that the Team Unity Government’s early preparations and quick decisions meant that the country had the protective equipment it needed and its hospitals did not become overwhelmed.

“We kept you safe. We remain one of the very few countries that have not had any COVID-19-related-deaths,” she said. “As we have reopened our borders, we have kept the health of our people our top priority, but we are not taking anything for granted, neither should you.”

Minister Byron-Nisbett added that there is much more needed to be done to secure a stronger and safer future for the Federation.

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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — During the February 17 National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) Press Briefing, medical officials shared with the public that the COVID-19 vaccine will be given in three stages.

Medical Chief of Staff at the JNF General Hospital, Dr. Cameron Wilkinson, said that when determining who will be vaccinated first, the World Health Organization has three goals in mind. These include:
1. To decrease serious death and serious disease as much as possible;
2. To preserve the functioning of society: and
3. To reduce the extra burden COVID-19 is having on people already facing disparities.

Speaking to the stage approach, Dr. Wilkinson said that enough vaccines are available to cover 20 percent of the population. Therefore, vaccination will be done through prioritizing and targeting.

“The National Immunization Committee has met and determined the target groups for the various stages,” he said. “So we will roll out this plan in three stages.”

In Stage 1a, it will be health care workers as they are at high risk. These workers include all specialists and internists, doctors and nurses on the COVID-19 Ward, the Operating Theatre, Intensive Care Unit, Accident and Emergency, COVID-19 Testers, Health Centre Nurse Managers, Aids and Emergency Medical Services.

Stage 1b includes border protection staff along the corridor of containment; Port Health, Immigration, Customs, Ground Transportation (Taxi Drivers), and Hotel Workers, including those at the front desk, security and lobby.

Stage 1c includes the executive arm of government and essential workers outside of the health sector, including police and defence force, coast guard, fire and rescue.

Stage 1d includes older adults, 60-79 years of age, with chronic diseases, and two or more of the following comorbidities: diabetes, respiratory conditions like emphysema and asthma, renal disease, auto-immune conditions, and coagulopathies.

Stage 1e is an emergency reserve of vaccines for utilization for outbreak response or mitigation.

Stage 2a includes health care workers who are at high to very high-risk in nursing homes (public and private), in-home care services, and COVID-19 Laboratory Staff.

Stage 2b include older adults, 60 to 70 years of age, with none or one co-morbidity, in nursing homes, in home care. Dr. Laws noted that older adults, who are 80 years or older, would be medically evaluated for suitability of receiving the vaccine.

Stage 2c includes persons under 60 years of age with chronic diseases and the following comorbidities: diabetes, respiratory conditions like emphysema and asthma, renal disease, auto-immune conditions, and coagulopathies.

Stage 2d includes socioeconomic groups including low-income migrant settlements (St. Kitts –Newtown, Irish Town/McKnight, Market Street; Nevis –Low Street, Craddock Road, Bath Village), disadvantaged persons registered in the Social Security Benefit Systems, persons with disabilities, low-income groups, hard to reach populations, Mental Health Day Treatment Centre.

Stage 3a will target all the staff and teachers in the Ministry of Education from the Early Childhood phase to the tertiary level.

Stage 3b will target essential workers outside of the health system. These include police and defence force, municipal services, other civil servants, agricultural and food industry workers, ground, and sea transportation drivers.

Stage 3c will include social employment groups including prison workers and residents, manufacturing industry workers, New Horizons Detention Centre, the Children’s Home and offshore medical school dorms.

Stage 3d will target health care workers who are at low risk. These include Medical Ward Staff, Surgical Ward Staff, Cardin Home Staff, Flamboyant Nursing Home Staff, Ministry of Health Administration and Clerical Staff.

Stage 3e will focus on persons at high-risk of transmitting the infection and young and middle-aged adults who may not have any chronic illness.

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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris is urging citizens and residents of St. Kitts and Nevis to take the vaccine next week when the Federation begins to vaccinate people against the deadly Novel Coronavirus.

Prime Minister Harris, told the sitting of the National Assembly on February 18 that his Government is aware of a global anti-vaccine campaign that has impacted on citizens and has created a challenge to the Federation’s efforts to fight COVID-19.

Dr. Harris told citizens and residents that by taking the vaccine, “You are not only protecting yourself, but also those around you and those who are too young, frail or ill to take the vaccine.”

“The primary objective of the vaccines is to prevent serious illness which may also lead to death,” said Dr. Harris. “There is no better reason to accept the vaccine than that of saving your life and that of your loved ones. The vaccines are safe with no significant side effects so far and they have undergone significant testing to ensure their efficacy and safety.”

“Higher rates of vaccination will eventually reduce the rate of infection, illness, and deaths,” said Dr. Harris. “It will also reduce the possibility of new variants since more infections equal higher chance of mutation to new and possibly dangerous variants. This is a ‘Novel’ disease and so, much is yet to be learned. However, the existing vaccines have all shown from trials data to be effective in preventing serious illness and/death.”

Dr. Harris said that a regional communications unit to promote vaccine acceptance is being coordinated by the Caribbean Public Health Agency and the Caribbean Community’s Communication Unit, will work in conjunction with the Federation’s educational efforts.

Prime Minister Harris noted that the importance of taking the vaccine cannot be overstated.

“Even if you survive the infection and recover, there is the possibility that you might get what is described as Long COVID-19,” said Dr. Harris. “This is generally defined as the lingering effects in some persons infected by the virus. These persons show symptoms or complications beyond the four- to 12-week period considered to be the usual expected time for recovery from infection. This has been found in all levels of infection, from mild to severe. Some of the symptoms are very serious and due to the unknown characteristics of the disease process, is more reason we should all give serious consideration to taking the vaccine,” Prime Minister Harris advised.

The Federation’s mass vaccination plan is expected to begin on Monday, February 22.

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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — The Association of Caribbean States (ACS) has announced seholarships in its Master and Doctoral Programme on the Law of the Sea and Maritime Law, offered by the Ankara University Research Centre of the Sea and Maritime Law and the Government of Turkey.

Interested persons are asked to apply online via:
<a href="http://https://turkiyeburslari.gov.tr/en/announcement/turkiye-scholarships-2021-applications“>https://turkiyeburslari.gov.tr/en/announcement/turkiye-scholarships-2021-applications

Copies of all applications and accompanying documents should be submitted to the Human Resources Management Department at Government Headquarters on Church Street, Basseterre, no later than February 20, 2021, for further processing. This can be done in person or via the following email hu************@**vt.kn.

Relevant information regarding the program can be found on the website below.
http://dehukam.ankara.edu.tr/en/about-the-program/

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