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A&B: Facilities Nearly Full as COVID Hospitalisations Increase, New Rules to Follow

The Antigua and Barbuda public State of Emergency which is scheduled to end on September 30 is likely to be extended for the sixth time since March 2020.

Reflecting on the sharp rise in covid cases over the past two weeks, “It is almost an automatic requirement going forward”, Cabinet Spokesman, Minister Melford Nicholas told reporters moments ago.

“As it reaches the point of expiration, we will obviously have to get the Parliament’s consent to extend it, and of course the conditions that will prevail now and that we’re going into would indicate that that it is almost an automatic requirement going forward”, he said.

According to the latest Cabinet notes, there are presently 27 people hospitalized with the coronavirus.

Thirteen of the 17 beds at the Infectious Diseases Centre (IDC) are occupied, while 10 of 16 beds inside the covid ward of the Sir Lester Bird Mount St John’s Medical Centre are being used to treat people with severe covid symptoms.

“The SLBMJMC Covid Ward has 39 beds and 72% of them are occupied in the Covid ward”, the notes read.

Three minors ages 12 to 17 tested positive during the last two days and one child is presently being treated in the Emergency Room.

The number of active covid cases have also risen to 222.

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A number of measures have been adopted to curb the spread of covid-19.

On advice of the Ministry of Health, Cabinet Spokesman Melford Nicholas says with effect from Friday August 27, an 8pm curfew will run for two weeks from 8pm to 5am daily.

He says this will give the health officials an opportunity to deal with people who are infected and hospitalized as a result of contracting the virus.

Reopening of schools have been pushed back by a week. Students will no longer return on the 6 of September but instead on the 13 of September.

Health authorities have recommended a three stage approach for the reopening of schools. Students will begin with face-to-face classes when school begins, if there are no further increases in covid cases.

Bars and gyms will also be closed for that two-week period; restaurants can only offer take out services; churches will be reverted to a maximum of 25 people in attendance for all services, including weddings and funerals and summer camps are now closed.

All other social gatherings will be limited to 10 people.

These new measures come as the country records a further increase in covid cases.

According to Nicholas, 58 people have tested positive for coronavirus over the last few days, bringing the total active cases to 222 which includes a five month old infant.

Latest dashboard figures as of August 24, 2021

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World View: Kabul Airport Terror Alert, Japan Stops Moderna Vax, Cruise Lines Require Vax Passengers, More

 

Aug 26, 2021

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The Associated Press

Advancing the Power of Facts

The Rundown

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LONDON (AP) — Western nations warned Thursday of a possible attack on Kabul’s airport, where thousands have flocked as they try to flee Taliban-controlled Afghanistan in the waning days of a massive…Read More

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TOKYO (AP) — Japan suspended use of about 1.63 million doses of Moderna vaccine Thursday after contamination was found in unused vials, raising concern of a supply shortage as the country tries to a…Read More

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MIAMI (AP) — Joel Steckler was eager for his first cruise in more than a year and a half, and he chose the ship that just two months ago became the first to accept passengers again after a long pand…Read More

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CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An Australian farmer couldn’t go to his aunt’s funeral because of pandemic restrictions so he paid his respects with a novel alternative: dozens of sheep arranged in the s…Read More

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SPRINGVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — She was folding a red sweater when she heard a car door slam, went to the window and realized that a moment she always imagined would kill her was about to be made real: th…Read More

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — A 30-year-old man who appeared nude at 4 months old in 1991 on the cover of Nirvana’s “Nevermind” album is suing the band and others, alleging the image i…Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as many as 1,500 Americans may be awaiting evacuation from Afghanistan, a figure that suggests the U.S. may accompli…Read More

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Frustrated by out-of-control increases in drug overdose deaths, California’s leaders are trying something radical: They want the state to be the fi…Read More

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Few Palestinians in the occupied West Bank get to board an airplane these days. The territory has no civilian airport and those who can afford a p…Read More

The post World View: Kabul Airport Terror Alert, Japan Stops Moderna Vax, Cruise Lines Require Vax Passengers, More appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Qantas plans restarting overseas flights despite $1.7b loss

Qantas is planning to restart some international travel before Christmas after it posted a $1.7 billion after-tax loss for the financial year.

The Australian airline – badly hit by the COVID-19 restrictions on travel – today said its underlying loss before tax for the last financial year was $1.83 billion and the statutory loss was $2.35 billion.

The airline estimated the revenue impact from the COVID-19 pandemic was $12 billion.

READ MORE: Qantas offers free points, flight vouchers, for fully vaccinated Australians

"This loss shows the impact that a full year of closed international borders and more than 330 days of domestic travel restrictions had on the national carrier," Qantas chief executive officer Alan Joyce said.

"The trading conditions have frankly been diabolical."

But Mr Joyce said despite the challenging trading conditions, Qantas was planning to resume domestic and some international flights when higher COVID-19 vaccination targets are achieved.

"It's obviously up to government exactly how and when our international borders re-open, but with Australia on track to meet the 80 per cent trigger agreed by National Cabinet by the end of the year, we need to plan ahead for what is a complex restart process," he said.

Qantas said the initial routes planned were for destinations with high COVID-19 vaccination rates, with flights to resume by mid-December 2021.

They include Singapore, the US, Japan, UK and Canada.

It also expects the New Zealand travel bubble will resume in some form by mid-December.

READ MORE: 'Eighteen months of hell': Union calls for support after Qantas stands down 2500 workers

Qantas CEO, Alan Joyce

The airline said it was hoping to relaunch flights to Hong Kong in February and the rest of the Qantas and Jetstar international network was set to open up from April 2022, with capacity increasing gradually.

But Qantas flights to major cities in countries with low vaccination rates will be pushed out to April 2022.

They include some favourites for Australian tourists such as Bali, Jakarta, Manila, Bangkok, Phuket, Ho Chi Minh City and Johannesburg.

Qantas says due to the expected high demand from Australians for flights to London, it is considering making Darwin a new transit point.

The plan is partly driven by the harsh border policies in Western Australia.

READ MORE: Prime Minister outlines Australia's pathway out of the pandemic

"The airline is investigating using Darwin as a transit point, which has been Qantas' main entry for repatriation flights, as an alternative (or in addition) to its existing Perth hub given conservative border policies in Western Australia," a statement read.

In the domestic market, Qantas endured a stop-start year.

Qantas and its budget airline Jetstar were operating close to their pre-pandemic domestic capacity in May when state borders were open.

But it was again forced to halt flights when NSW and Victoria returned to lockdown when it stood down 2500 staff.

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Grenada Health Minister To Be Fined for Not Wearing Mask

Grenada Health Minister Nickolas Steele says he is prepared to suffer the financial consequences after he was photographed recently in the company of American actor Steven Seagal not wearing a mask.

Steele told reporters that he is aware that the photograph may send a different message to the population whom health officials, including himself, here have been urging persons to wear the mask and adhere to the other protocols, such as social distancing.

“I had a conversation with the Commissioner of Police and as far as I am concerned there is public evidence that I was not wearing a mask and I await my ticket, I will pay my charge,” Steele told reporters at the weekly post-cabinet press conference.

“The law and the regulations we put out there are for everybody and those who were in the vehicle are going to do the same. The law is for everybody.

I will pay my charge. I will receive my ticket for not wearing a mask in public. And we will move forward and I expect any and everybody else to follow by example as well. It has been 15 months that we all have been dealing with this (COVID-19) and yes I dropped my guard, I wasn’t wearing my mask, therefore, I will pay the consequences,” Steel said.

Under the regulations, no person without reasonable excuse, be in a public space without wearing a face mask, or a face covering in a manner that covers his or her mouth, nose and chin.

The regulations allow for the person on summary conviction to be liable to a fine not exceeding EC$500 and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months.

It also makes provision for a person who commits an offense to be liable on service of a fixed penalty notice by a police officer, if the person so chooses to a fixed penalty of EC$350.

Steele was not the only government minister photographed with Seagal without a mask.

The Ministry of Culture and Arts in a Facebook post published on August 20, had a photograph with Minister Yolande Bain-Horsford and Permanent Secretary Michael Stephen, in a photo op with the Hollywood actor.

The ministry said that the American actor was here to discuss “the performing arts and possible plans of constructing a studio in Grenada”.

CMC

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Adelaide father attacked by Taliban desperate to get home

An Australian father beaten by the Taliban and trapped in Kabul has made a desperate plea to Prime Minister Scott Morrison to help save his life.

Farid, an Afghan refugee, made an emergency trip back to Afghanistan to visit his sick mother when the lightning-fast collapse of the Afghan army trapped him and tens of thousands of others in a country again run by religious zealots.

He has stayed alive by moving from house to house, hiding from Taliban members and pleading for help from Australian officials to help him get home.

READ MORE: Australians in Afghanistan warned to avoid Kabul airport

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"I am an Australian citizen a father a husband and a brother. Myself and my cousin were attacked by Taliban yesterday, I am injured on my head," Farid said in confronting video which showed his bloody injuries.

"My plea for my country Australia and my Prime Minister Scott Morrison is to urgently protect me. My life and my cousin's life are in danger. As an Australian I call on my government to please step in and save my life."

Farid's wife, Kolsoum is also pleading with the Australian Government to help get her husband home, concerned every day he stays there puts his life at further risk.

"It's very hard to be beaten by your people in your country and I want him to just come back – we love him," Kolsoum told 9News.

"He is a father of three kids, the kids need him, I need him. We have been living together for 20 years, we need help from the government to help him get out."

Defence planes have rescued 4000 Australians, refugees and other nationals from Kabul Airport but Mr Morrison says the situation is something Australia has to deal with.

"We have to deal with the reality, the terrible, brutal and awful reality of the situation on the ground," Mr Morrison said.

READ MORE: Kabul becoming more dangerous by the hour

Foreign Minister Marise Payne has advised Australians in Kabul to seek shelter and not try to get to Hamid Karzai International Airport because it is too dangerous.

Farid's lawyer says other countries have offered safe passage through Kabul, but there are no plans for anyone in the Australian contingent to leave the airport where soldiers and officials are already dealing with thousands as Farid's friends say there is no doubt his life is in danger.

"He is from Hazara tribe. That's why he's being targeted. Because he's Hazara. From minority Shia group," friend Bashir Rezie said.

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Mask Violence: Guyana Security Guard Shoots Market Customer Over Masking Argument

Police are investigating an incident in which a 57-year-old security guard reportedly shot a supermarket customer on Tuesday during an argument that stemmed from the man not wearing a mask.

Police said that the customer had sought to enter a supermarket in East Bank Demerara, but was prevented from doing so by the security guard because he was not wearing a mask, which is part of public health regulations aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus that has killed 601 people and infected 24,506 others since last year March.

The police said that following the argument, the customer left and later returned with a cutlass, brandishing it at the security guard, who told them that he shot the customer in the leg.

The customer was rushed to Leonora Cottage Hospital and later transferred to the West Demerara Regional Hospital, where he is in a stable condition.

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Brazil to Give COVID-19 Booster Shots to Elderly & Vulnerable, More

SAO PAULO, Aug 25 (Reuters) – Brazil will give booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines to people with compromised immune systems and those over the age of 70 beginning in mid-September, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

Vaccines from AstraZeneca (AZN.L), Johnson & Johnson(JNJ.N), or Pfizer (PFE.N) will be used for the booster shots, the ministry said in a statement.

The information differs from remarks on Tuesday byHealth Minister Marcelo Queiroga, who had said vulnerable people and over 80-year-olds would receive an additional jab of the Pfizer.

The rapid spread of the Delta variant and new research suggesting diminished effectiveness of vaccines over time has led many countries to propose an additional dose to reinforce protection.

Sinovac’s Coronavac vaccine, which was used for many elderly people in Brazil because it was the earliest available in large quantities, is not part of the plans outlined for the booster shots.

The extra shots will be administered to those with vulnerable immune systems 28 days after their second dose. For those 70 and over, the ministry stipulated a six-month interval before applying a booster shot.

Also starting next month, the gap between the first and second shots of Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines will fall to eight weeks from 12 weeks for all those vaccinated in Brazil.

Brazil has had more than 20.6 million confirmed coronavirus infections and more than 575,000 fatalities due to the virus.

According to data from the Health Ministry, 123.9 million people have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in Brazil, or about 59% of the population.

Some 55.7 million had been completelyimmunized, or about 26.5% of the country’s population, the data showed.

Reporting by Eduardo Simões; Writing by Ana Mano; Editing by David Holmes and Steve
Orlofsky
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St Lucia could be added to the UK’s travel red list, as ministers prepare to update the traffic-light system for the final time this summer.

Covid data analyst Tim White warned PA news agency that the Caribbean island is “in real peril” of being put on the red list as “the numbers keep getting worse”.

This would mean travellers arriving in the UK from St Lucia would be required to stay in a quarantine hotel for 11 nights on their arrival, at a starting price of £2,285 per adult.

He said Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria and Ghana could also face being added to the red list today.

On the positive side, Turkey has said it expects to be removed from the red list and there is also pressure for restrictions to be eased on passengers arriving from Pakistan.

This would mean all passengers would be allowed into the UK again as long as they test negative for Covid before travelling. Some will have to isolate at home for up to 10 days, while those who were fully vaccinated in the UK, Europe or US with a drug approved by their respective regulators could skip quarantine altogether.

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India reported 46,164 new Covid cases and 607 deaths in the latest 24 hour period, according to data released by the health ministry on Thursday.

The figures compare to 37,593 new cases and 648 deaths the previous day.

India’s official total death toll currently stands at 436,365.

In the UK, teachers and families are being urged to take precautions to reduce outbreaks of the winter sickness bug before pupils return to school next week.

As Covid restrictions have eased, health officials have been alerted to a surge in norovirus outbreaks, particularly in nurseries and child-care settings.

A report by Public Health England (PHE) warns that further rises could be seen in coming months. Norovirus is highly infectious and causes vomiting and diarrhoea but usually passes in a couple of days.

Summary

Here’s a quick roundup of what’s been happening so far:

  • Moderna Inc says it has withheld supply of about 1.63 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine in Japan after a report of contamination of vials with particulate matter, which it suspects involves a production line in Spain.
  • New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has dismissed criticism of her ambitious elimination strategy to stamp out Covid, as the country’s outbreak grows, saying the approach has saved lives and will continue to do so.
  • The Australian state of New South Wales has reported a record 1,029 cases, with hospitals in Sydney, the epicentre of the outbreak, struggling to cope with the rise in patients. The nurses union says multiple facilities are under “enormous pressure” and have “very little capacity” in their emergency departments.
  • The scientists dispatched to China by the WHO to discover Covid’s origins said that the window of opportunity for solving the mystery is “closing fast”. They appeared to be attempting to reframe their original finding, which said a lab leak was “extremely unlikely”, after details emerge on how terms were agreed with Chinese officials.
  • Brazil announced it will give Covid booster shots to immunosuppressed or vulnerable people, and citizens over the age of 80, after it emerged yesterday it had leaked its supply contract with Pfizer – showing it provided the pharma giant with indemnity from possible citizen lawsuits over potential adverse events after it provided jabs at cheaper prices.
  • Papua New Guinea has banned all repatriation flights from India, after accusing the country’s high commission of a deliberate “deception” that resulted in passengers infected with Covid-19 arriving in the country.
  • Taiwan reported zero community cases of Covid-19 for the first time since its biggest outbreak began in May, killing more than 800 people. Residents had lived a largely normal life for most of 2020 and early 2021, albeit with closed borders.
  • Just over half of Florida’s 2.8 million public school students are now required to wear masks in classrooms as a courtroom battle continues over efforts by Governor Ron DeSantis to leave such decisions up to parents.
  • The emergence of the Delta variant means that vaccination may not prove to be the magic bullet that many governments hoped for, a new report by the Economist Intelligence Unit said. It called on political leaders to rethink their Covid strategy to adapt it for the long term.

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PAHO: Vaccine Inequity Remains the Weak Point in COVID-19 Battle

BOGOTA, Aug 25 (Reuters) – The unequal distribution of vaccines which protect against COVID-19 is the weak point in efforts to combat the disease in the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday.

“Vaccine inequity remains the Achilles’ heel of our response,” PAHO Director Dr. Carissa Etienne said during the organization’s weekly virtual briefing.

“A handful of companies produce all the world’s supply of COVID-19 vaccines,” Etienne said. “Many of them are letting price and country of origin, not need, determine how doses are rolled out, so much of today’s vaccine supply remains in the hands of wealthy nations around the world.”

Countries are also suffering because of production delays, leaving them waiting for doses purchased months ago, she said.

Almost 12 million vaccine donations from the United States, Spain, Norway, France and Sweden will not be enough to protect the hundreds of millions of people who remain vulnerable, Etienne said, adding just over 23% of people in Latin America and the Caribbean are fully vaccinated.

PAHO will launch an effort to bring mRNA vaccine technology to the region and boost manufacturing efforts, she said.

The situation in Haiti following an Aug. 14 earthquake which killed over 2,000 people remains serious, Etienne said. The country’s health ministry has asked for additional surgical and trauma care support and PAHO is distributing supplies.

Some 59 health facilities in the country’s south were affected by the quake, she added, about half severely.

Vaccine doses for Venezuelan migrants – millions of whom have fled their country for other parts of Latin America – are being acquired, including through the COVAX mechanism, PAHO’s health emergencies director Dr. Ciro Ugarte said.

It is important that undocumented migrants have access to shots, he added, not only to protect them but the communities where they live.

The Americas reported over 1.5 million new COVID-19 cases last week and nearly 20,000 related deaths.

Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb, Editing by Franklin Paul and Marguerita Choy

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More than 100 Afghan Journalists Given Sanctuary in Mexico

CNN- More than 100 Afghan journalists and their families arrived in Mexico on Wednesday after requesting humanitarian protection, according to a statement from Mexico’s Foreign Ministry.

The group of 124 people whose lives would have been in danger in Afghanistan consisted of media workers and their families, including children, according to the statement. They arrived to Mexico City International Airport early on Wednesday.

Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the decision to offer protection to the journalists is “congruent with the historical position of Mexico.”

It’s about those who are risking their lives to inform, to communicate; who are committed to freedom of expression,” he said, adding that the group included reporters and local staff members from “many media who have applied for humanitarian visas to Mexico due to the latest events.”

The foreign ministry added in the statement that the travel and living costs during their stay in Mexico will be covered by private sponsors and civil society organizations.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has warned that Afghan journalists face extreme dangers amid the Taliban takeover.

At least three female Afghan journalists have been murdered this year, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), while one was shot dead by a gunman in December 2020.

New York Times journalist Michael Slackman speaks during a press conference to welcome a group of journalists and media correspondents to Mexico.

The New York Times said Wednesday that a group of Afghans who worked for the newspaper, along with their families, were part of the group.

According to a statement issued by the Mexican Foreign Ministry, the director of International News for the New York Times, Michael Slackman, thanked Mexico for its support and “the rapid dispatch by Mexico’s government of safe transportation for journalists.”

In the statement, Slackman also urged “the entire international community to follow this example and to continue working on behalf of the brave Afghan journalists who are still in danger.”

Western news outlets are working to evacuate local journalists from Afghanistan

RSF said the Taliban was already imposing harsh constraints on the news media — even as it made promises about protecting press freedom.

“Officially, the new Afghan authorities have not issued any regulations, but the media and reporters are being treated in an arbitrary manner,” RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said in a statement.

The group said that at least ten journalists have been subjected to violence or threats while working in the streets of Kabul and Jalalabad in the past week.

Many of the western media that had presence in Afghanistan have evacuated their foreign correspondents and local staff in recent weeks, following the Taliban takeover.

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US Supreme Court: Asylum Seekers Can’t Stay in US While Claims Being Processed

The US Supreme Court has ordered President Joe Biden to reinstate a policy of making asylum seekers stay in Mexico while claims are processed.

The policy was put in place by his predecessor, Donald Trump, as part of his measures to restrict the number of asylum seekers entering the US.

But Mr Biden suspended it on his first day of office.

Rights groups say the policy subjects migrants to dangerous conditions in Mexico’s border towns.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court rejected a bid to block a Texas-based judge’s ruling requiring the government to revive the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) policy.

It said the Biden administration had “failed to show a likelihood of success” on the claim that rescinding the policy was not “arbitrary and capricious”.

The Biden administration can make another attempt to try and end the policy.

The American Civil Liberties Union has called on Mr Biden to try again and provide a “fuller explanation” for why the policy should be terminated.

Some 70,000 migrants were enrolled in the MPP policy. A month after Mr Biden’s inauguration, his administration began to gradually process these tens of thousands of people waiting in Mexico, allowing them into the US while their cases are heard.

It’s not yet clear how many people will be affected by the ruling.

The US Homeland Security department said it regretted the Supreme Court’s decision and would “continue to vigorously challenge it”.

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