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Olympic medalists will get one complimentary no-limit nights’ stay in the highest room category at any Sandals or Beaches resort in the region, as well as luxury BMW transportation from their house to the resort of their choosing, if available.

Athletes who represented their country, in any event, will also enjoy four-night luxury holidays at a Sandals Resort on their home island.

Because the much-anticipated Beaches Saint Vincent is still closed, the contingent from St Vincent will spend their holiday in St Lucia.

Commenting on the teams’ outstanding achievements in getting to the Olympics and standing on the podium, Stewart said, “It takes a great amount of sacrifice, hard work, dedication and consistency to even make it to the Olympics. Our Caribbean athletes have shown admirable grit, tenacity and a fighting spirit and as a Caribbean brand, entirely committed to the development of the region and showcasing our regional talent, we are beyond proud of every single athlete who went out there to represent their country.”

The competitors will get complimentary accommodations in recognition of their excellent
accomplishments and perseverance during an Olympics marred by delays and uncertainty owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These games and the performances our athletes have delivered have been just what we need to lift our collective spirits. We can never thank our athletes enough for everything they do for their countries and we cannot express enough what it means to all of us but we are certainly going to make sure they have the best vacation experience of their lives when they redeem their well- earned prizes,” said Stewart.

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The charter flight carrying less than 10 people departed from Stansted Airport at around 1am on Wednesday. Those on board were Jamaican residents of Britain being deported by the UK Government.

Human rights activists have revealed the ‘chaotic’ scenes that took place moments before a mass deportation flight to Jamaica – including alleged attempted suicides.

The plane left from London Stansted Airport in the early hours of Wednesday (August 11) containing up to 10 Jamaican nationals previously convicted in UK courts. One is understood to be from Birmingham.

The move has been slammed as an ‘abomination’ by human rights activists who claimed some detainees made suicide attempts while in detention before the flight.

Those onboard included convicted offenders who have been deemed to be in this country illegally.

It is the fourth deportation flight since the Windrush scandal broke in 2017, with one plane – nicknamed ConAir – leaving from Birmingham.

Bella Sankey is the director of Detention Action which had taken up some of the deportation cases.

She tweeted today: “There has been A LOT going on behind the scenes of the #Jamaica50 flight tonight. Horrifying suicide attempts and now lots and lots of people being taken off the plane.

“It is complete chaos, and we’re still receiving referrals. Just now from a man with clear potential Windrush links but who has not had proper legal advice and doesn’t even have any immigration papers.

“He is confused yet on the bus to the plane having spent over 30 years here. The Home Office hasn’t got a clue what it’s doing.

“It is shocking to see so many people’s lives hanging in the balance and nearly all without time or access to properly make their case.

“There is no way a mass expulsion can ever uphold human rights or ensure that those with the right to be here are allowed to stay.

“No country should accept charter flights. They sweep everyone up and create a political spectacle that dehumanises those involved and their children & loved ones.

“Transatlantic crossings in the dead of night? It is sickening.

“So much harm has already been done. There are likely thousands of British children who have been permanently scarred by a parent being ripped away.”

Campaigners have called for the flight to be turned around due to concerns about the spread of the Delta coronavirus variant. They also claim a ‘frail 66-year-old with dementia’ was among the people who boarded the plane this morning.

Stansted Airport

Karen Doyle, the national organiser for Movement Justice, an organisation that played a pivoted role in campaigning against the deportations told Birmingham Live: “I’ve worked with 30 detainees, of those 26 had their tickets cancelled and four were on the flight.

“One of those who boarded the plane was a 66-year-old vulnerable frail man who we suspect has dementia. His condition meant it was impossible to get the evidence needed to fight his case. He’s second-generation Windrush and had been in the UK for 32 years.

“We will be working with Detention Action to try and get him back as he has no family in Jamaica. He had worked his whole life for the former Department of Health and Social Security.

“He was taken straight from prison and only had three days to try and build a case. It’s a massive injustice. This is exactly how things like the Windrush scandal happen. He’s no danger to the public, he can barely walk.”

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Senate OKs Dems’ $3.5T budget in latest win for Biden

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats pushed a $3.5 trillion framework for bolstering family services, health, and environment programs through the Senate early Wednesday, advancing President Joe Biden’s expansive vision for reshaping federal priorities just…Read More

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Afghan officials: 3 more provincial capitals fall to Taliban

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban seized three more provincial capitals in Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday, putting nine of the nation’s 34 in the insurgents’ hands amid the U.S. withdrawal from the country….Read More

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In Iran, slow vaccinations fuel anger in unending pandemic

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranians are suffering through yet another surge in the coronavirus pandemic — their country’s worst yet — and anger is growing at images of vaccinated Westerners without face masks on the internet or on TV while …Read More

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China sentences Canadian to 11 years in case tied to Hauwei

DANDONG, China (AP) — A Canadian entrepreneur was sentenced to 11 years in prison Wednesday in a spy case linked to Beijing’s effort to push his country to release an executive of tech giant Huawei, prompting an unusual joint show of support for Ca…Read More

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Pacific Northwest braces for another multiday heat wave

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — People in the Pacific Northwest braced for another major, multiday heat wave starting Wednesday, just over a month after record-shattering hot weather killed hundreds of the region’s most vulnerable when temperatures soared to…Read More

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Caribbean islands continue to update their entry protocols to protect their citizens from the rapidly spreading delta COVID-19 variant, this includes the Federation.

St Kitts and Nevis

St. Kitts & Nevis has further extended the travel advisory for travellers arriving from the UK, Brazil, India and South Africa from July 19, 2021 until August 31, 2021.

People from the aforementioned destinations are advised not to travel to St. Kitts & Nevis at this time as entry into the Federation will be denied.

Citizens and Residents of St. Kitts & Nevis who are arriving from any of these countries must process their travel request through the online platform www.knatravelform.kn.

Those who have been fully vaccinated for two weeks or more prior to their arrival will be required to quarantine for four days upon arrival and await a negative RT-PCR Test taken on day four before they can be released from quarantine. Those Citizens and Residents who have not been fully vaccinated for two weeks prior to their arrival will be required to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.

Travellers should regularly check the St. Kitts Tourism Authority (www.stkittstourism.kn) and Nevis Tourism Authority (www.nevisisland.com) websites for updates and information.

Below are some of the latest updates. We urge you to do your research and check all relevant sources of information before embarking on travel anywhere in the region.

The Bahamas

Effective Friday, August 6, all fully vaccinated travellers and children aged two to 11 entering from other countries will be required to obtain a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than five days prior to their date of arrival.

Unvaccinated travellers ages 12 and older must still obtain a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken no more than 5 days prior to the date of arrival. All children under the age of two are exempt from any testing requirements.

Travelling Inter-Island within The Bahamas from the following islands: Nassau & Paradise Island, Grand Bahama, Bimini, Exuma, Abaco and North and South Eleuthera, including Harbour Island:

• All fully vaccinated persons, as well as children ages two-11 wishing to travel within The Bahamas will be required to obtain a negative COVID-19 test (either a rapid antigen test or PCR test), taken no more than five days prior to the date of travel.
• Unvaccinated persons ages 12 and older must still obtain a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken no more than five days prior to the date of travel.
• All children under the age of two are exempt from any testing requirements.

Cruise Passengers

• Guests on cruises that originate in and return to The Bahamas must still apply for a Bahamas Travel Health Visa and follow the new testing requirements for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.
  • Vaccinated persons must provide a negative PCR test OR rapid antigen test taken no more than five (5) days prior to the date of arrival to The Bahamas.
  • Unvaccinated persons are required to obtain a negative PCR test taken no more than five (5) days prior to the date of arrival to The Bahamas.
• All travellers entering The Bahamas on cruises that originate in the US will be subjected to the testing requirements mandated by the cruise line and approved by the Government of The Bahamas.
  • Cruise lines may have different requirements for vaccinated and unvaccinated guests. Travellers should check with their cruise line for specific details pertaining to their cruise.

St Eustatius

Fully vaccinated visitors including tourists can visit Statia but visitors from high-risk countries must adhere to a strict five days’ protocol upon arrival which includes wearing a face mask, keeping social distance and not attending large organised events.

Vaccinated visitors from very high-risk countries are welcome but must go into quarantine for a period of five days upon entry.

Fully vaccinated visitors from low-risk countries do not have to adhere to certain measures and do not have to go into quarantine.

Unvaccinated Travellers

Non vaccinated residents, family members, workers or persons who own a home in Statia and who were in a high-risk country or a very high-risk country prior are welcome as well but must go into quarantine for a period of 10 days upon entry. Non vaccinated tourists cannot yet visit Statia.

A list of very high risk, high risk, low risk and very low countries can be found on the following link Country list | Regulation | St. Eustatius (statiagovernment.com). This list will be updated on a regular basis.

GUYANA

The approved vaccines are Sinopharm, Sputnik V, Moderna, Oxford-AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson.

Travellers, who have taken the Cuban manufactured Abdala vaccine or India’s COVAXIN, must inform the government prior to arrival and they will be considered on a case by case basis.

Pregnant women and children under 18 will be allowed to enter Guyana with a negative PCR test.

“There might be other citizens, who for one reason or the other, [might] have travelled abroad and because these requirements are now in place…and they now require to travel back, they might not have [gotten] their vaccine. In those circumstances, they can apply to the Task Force ahead of time and each case will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis,” the minister said.

Airlines are not allowing persons to travel unless they meet the requirements to entry since the company will have to pay a fine.

Proof of vaccination is currently required for persons to enter places of entertainment and some government offices without an appointment.

The government has mandated people employed in sectors such as the public service, entertainment, banking and medical fields to be vaccinated.

Just over 271,122 people or 55.7 per cent of adults in Guyana have received at least their first vaccine shot.

Over 144, 965 people or 29.8 per cent of adults are fully vaccinated.

 

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“The time we would need to boost is if we see evidence that there was an increase in hospitalisation – or the next stage after that, which would be people dying – amongst those who are vaccinated. And that is not something we are seeing at the moment,” he said.

Even if vaccine-induced antibody levels waned, our immune systems would probably remember the vaccination for decades and offer a degree of protection if exposed to the virus, he said. “So, there isn’t any reason at this moment to panic. We’re not seeing a problem with breakthrough severe disease.”

The question of whether or not to vaccinate under-16s, as countries including the US, Ireland and Israel have done, has also provoked scientific debate in the UK.

The JCVI has recommended only vulnerable children aged 12 to 15 be vaccinated, and those who live with at-risk adults. Some critics have said that rich countries with high adult vaccine coverage, such as the UK, should not be hoarding doses for children but should donate those doses to poor countries, many of which have barely vaccinated any of their most at-risk populations.

But Prof Devi Sridhar, the chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, pointed out that the only vaccine authorised for use in children aged 12 to 15 in the UK was the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

“I think actually the real issue is not about vaccinating kids versus the world – it’s what do we do about boosters that is being discussed in rich countries, because those are the doses that could be going abroad,” she said.

“Luckily … we have a very effective vaccine in AstraZeneca that can be used for the world, but it’s not going to solve our children issue here.”

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Unlocking the World

Maureen O’Hare, CNN • Published 7th August 2021

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• UK: The UK has opened up quarantine-free travel for vaccinated travelers from the United States and the European Union. Pictured: Pickmere Lake in Knutsford, England  Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

(CNN) — There have been cancellations and chaos on US airlines, Canada and Japan have been cracking down on Covid rule-breakers, but the UK is opening up to more and more vaccinated visitors.

Here’s what we learned in pandemic travel this week.

1. The US ‘do not travel’ list has got even bigger

Greece, including Athens, pictured, has been hit by a extreme heatwave and wildfires have broke out across the country.

Milos Bicanski/Getty Images

US citizens have already been advised against travel to countries with more than 500 Covid cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days, which includes popular tourist spots such as the UK, Spain and Maldives.

Now the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has given 16 new destinations its top risk designation of “Level 4: Covid-19 Very High.”

They are (deep breath): Andorra, Curaçao, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, Iran, Ireland, Isle of Man, Kazakhstan, Lesotho, Libya, Malta, Martinique, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin and the US Virgin Islands.

That means US citizens should avoid travel to these places and, if they really must travel, they should be fully vaccinated. Check out the CDC’s full recommendations list here.

2. The UK is opening up inbound and outbound travel

• 

• 

The UK has seen a staycation explosion during Covid-19, leaving some areas overwhelmed. There are still plenty of options though. Here are some of England’s most beautiful locations:

courtesy Visit Britain

UK case numbers have fallen tremendously since England dropped nearly all Covid restrictions on July 19, but there were still close to 183,000 new cases in the past week.

However, the country has had a very successful vaccine rollout, with more than 58% of the population now fully vaccinated.

Wales is set to drop most restrictions on August 7 while Scotland will do the same on August 9. Northern Ireland — across the Irish Sea — has its own region-specific measures.

Fully jabbed travelers from the United States and EU are now allowed to travel into the UK quarantine-free — although of course the CDC warns US citizens against doing just this.

In terms of outbound travel, the UK updated its “green list” on Thursday, adding Austria, Germany, Latvia, Norway, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia to the list for quarantine-free travel. You can read more about that here.

3. US airlines — and their passengers and crew — have had a rough week

At the time of writing on Friday, Florida-based ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines had entered its fifth day of mass cancellations. It’s been canceling hundreds of flights each day since Sunday, which the airline blames on weather challenges, system outages and staffing shortages. American Airlines was also in a cancellation frenzy.

WORLD STATS

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