BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, June 28, 2021 (MMS-SKN) — The island of St. Kitts is under a 24-hour lockdown which started on Sunday June 27 from 6:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m. on Thursday July 1, but health centres will be open today Monday June 28, tomorrow Tuesday June 29 and Wednesday June 30 from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. to facilitate those who are due to take the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

“The Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday carve out are intended specifically for persons who already have had their first dose of the vaccine and are now requiring the second dose to be completely vaccinated,” stated Prime Minister Dr the Hon Timothy Harris. “Those are the persons we would wish to have out on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.”

 Prime Minister Harris made the remarks on Sunday June 27 at the Sylvia Garnette Primary Health Care Facility in Tabernacle, which along with other health centres in the country was open between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., where he had gone to encourage and give support to persons taking their vaccines.

 “Persons have an opportunity today (Sunday June 27) whether for their first dose or they are taking the vaccine for the second time to be fully vaccinated,” said Dr Harris. “What is critical is that the cycle of two doses is completed for the batch that will be expiring after Wednesday, and we have enough vaccines available to give everyone who is due the vaccine by the 30^th of June the opportunity to take it.”

 He as a result encouraged that during the 24-hour lockdown period that persons requiring the second dose of the vaccine to go to their health centres to be vaccinated so as to be fully vaccinated. He however, reminded them that they should carry with them their vaccination card which shows that they have already received the first dose, and a government issued ID in case the police were to stop them and to demand proof for them being on the road.

   “The more people have the second dose, the higher the protection in the community, and this in itself would provide a barrier against significant infections going forward because the vaccine is the most powerful tool which we have in the fight against Covid-19,” pointed out the Honourable Prime Minister. “The more persons therefore armed with it, the stronger the defence of the entire country will be, and the better and safer all of us will be.”

 The vaccination rollout at the Sylvia Garnette Primary Health Care Facility in Tabernacle was facilitated by Nurse Paula Boddie, who was assisted by Nurse Vivien Greene-Simon. Prime Minister Harris, who is also the Area Parliamentary Representative for St. Christopher Seven (Bellevue to Ottley’s) brought six young men from his home village of Tabernacle who took their first dose of the vaccine.

 Dr Harris observed that it had been a wonderful week with an excellent turnout in terms of persons who took the vaccine, stressing: “We have had excellent turnout, 800-plus on Thursday, 900-plus on Friday, yesterday Saturday we had 1300-plus persons, the largest number since the programme started in February.”

 He however noted: “Today (Sunday June 27) I anticipate we will have lower numbers, but they will nonetheless give a significant boost to the second dosers and then Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday is the last set of opportunities available for people to get their second dose and become fully vaccinated.”

 At the end of the vaccination session at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 27, a total of 25 persons got vaccinated at the Sylvia Garnette Primary Health Care Facility, with 17 persons taking the second dose, and eight taking the first dose.

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Basseterre, St. Kitts, June 28, 2021 (SKNIS): As the Lambda variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 disease continues to spread throughout communities in St. Kitts, with Nevis spared, for the time being, the Government on the advice of health authorities has instituted a 14-day stringent action plan that includes a majority of 24-hour lockdowns and a few days of limited operations in order to curb the spread of the deadly and evasive virus. Since May 19, 2021, the country has seen 384 confirmed positive cases in just five weeks, in stark contrast to a total of just 45 positive cases in the previous 14 months, all of whom have recovered.

The Ministry of Health’s robust contact tracing continues to identify new cases of COVID-19 with one positive result reported within the last 24 hours in its COVID-19 Situation Report for Sunday 27th June, 2021.

The report states that the total number of confirmed cases, since the virus was imported into the country on March 24, 2020, now stands at 429 with 299 active cases, 127 recovered cases and three deaths. 414 of those cases were recorded in St. Kitts, while 15 were registered in Nevis. To date, there have been 20, 565 negative test results.

The country’s vaccination programme has been making steady progress and offering some hope, although more work needs to be done. As of Sunday 27th June, 2021, health authorities had administered 38, 499 total doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine representing 68.8 % of the target adult population who have had at least the first dose. 15, 778 persons have been back for their second dose amounting to 47.8 percent. In order for herd immunity to be achieved 70 percent of the total adult population, which equates to 33, 037 must be fully vaccinated.

Almost four million people around the world have succumbed to COVID-19 with the World Health Organization reporting the grim figure of 3, 899,172 deaths. 179, 686,071 cases have been confirmed globally and of that number 166, 271, 056 have recovered.

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Basseterre, St. Kitts, June 27, 2021 (SKNIS): Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr. Hazel Laws, announced during a Special NEOC COVID-19 Press Briefing on Saturday, June 26, that the new COVID-19 strain that was picked up in St. Kitts and Nevis in May 2021, is identified as the Lambda variant.

In early June, the Ministry of Health sent samples to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) for genomic sequencing to determine the variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that is presently in circulation.

“The report says that the SARS-CoV-2 variant belongs to the lineage B.1.1.1 or C.37. The World Health Organization label for this variant is the Lambda variant. So this is the variant that is in circulation in the Federation,” said CMO Dr. Laws. “The Lambda variant is classified as a variant of interest by the World Health Organization.”

The Lamba variant, which has been identified in 29 countries, was first identified in Peru in August 2020. Dr. Laws said it is “quite prevalent in the South American countries including Argentina.”

At a recent COVID-19 Press Briefing, Dr. Laws noted that the new strain is more transmissible than the strain we contained last year between March-July and it is also more deadly.

CMO Dr. Laws continues to encourage the general public to boost their immune systems, eat healthily, and exercise regularly. For persons who have tested positive for COVID-19, she also encouraged them to boost their immune system, make sure they consume healthy meals, maintain adequate hydration with water, and if possible, engage in some form of physical activity in an effort to facilitate a speedy recovery.

St. Kitts and Nevis COVID-19 Situation Report No. 457 as of Saturday, June 26, 2021, states that the total number of confirmed positive cases now stands at 428 with 313 active cases, 112 recovered cases, and three deaths. Four hundred and thirteen (413) of those cases were recorded in St. Kitts while 15 were registered in Nevis. To date, there have been 20, 427 negative results.

The Federation’s vaccination programme has been making steady progress. As of June 26, 2021, 38,006 total doses were administered representing 68.6 % of persons who have had at least the first dose, while 15, 350 persons have received their second dose amounting to 46.5 percent. In order for herd immunity to be achieved 70 percent of the total adult population, which equates to 33, 037 must be fully vaccinated.

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LIMA, June 26 (Reuters) – Thousands of Peruvians supporting socialist Pedro Castillo and right-wing rival Keiko Fujimori took to the streets on Saturday amid uncertainty over the result of a tight June 6 presidential election that has been held up by legal challenges.

Castillo holds a slender 44,000-vote lead over Fujimori with all ballots counted. But his right-wing rival has sought to disqualify votes, largely in rural areas that backed the leftist, making claims of fraud with little evidence.

Castillo’s Free Peru party has denied the allegations of fraud while international election observers have said the vote was carried out cleanly. The U.S. State Department described the process as a “model of democracy.”

In Fujimori’s march were members of various right and center-right parties, as well as retired military personnel who have backed her fraud claims. Many had banners saying “no to communism,” a criticism they often aim at Castillo.

“We are not Chavistas, we are not communists, we are not going to take away property from anyone, that is false… we are democratic,” Castillo told supporters on Saturday night. “The differences, the inequalities, are over.”

Many of his followers wore the same wide-brimmed hats Castillo has used in the campaign. Some wore outfits from the country’s Andean regions and danced, while others carried whips like those used by rural “ronderos,” or civil police.

Fujimori told her supporters on Saturday evening that she simply wanted electoral justice. “What we want is for all these irregularities to be analyzed,” she said.

Castillo, a 51-year-old former elementary school teacher and the son of peasant farmers, plans to redraft the country’s constitution to give the state a more active role in the economy and take a larger share of profits from mining companies.

He has softened his rhetoric in recent weeks, however, in a bid to calm market fears. He said on Saturday he would be keen to retain the central bank’s highly respected head, Julio Velarde, an important signal of stability for investors. read more

‘INTERRUPTIVE ACTS’

The already tense election process was plunged into disarray this week after one of the four magistrates on the jury reviewing contested ballots quit after clashing with the other officials over requests to nullify votes. read more

On Saturday the electoral jury swore in a replacement to allow the process to restart, key to restoring stability in the copper-rich Andean nation, which has been rattled by the tight vote.

“Electoral justice cannot be paralyzed or blocked, much less in this phase of the process,” said Jorge Salas, president of the National Elections Jury. “These interruptive arts will not prosper.”

The election jury will restart its work reviewing contested ballots on Monday, a spokeswoman for the body said. It must complete the review before an official result can be announced.

The polarized election has deeply divided Peruvians, with poorer rural voters rallying behind Castillo and wealthier urban voters from Lima supporting Fujimori, the daughter of jailed ex-President Alberto Fujimori.

The demonstrations came despite calls from health authorities to avoid crowds, with the country battling the most deadly per capita COVID-19 outbreak in the world.

Amid the tensions, intrigue has mounted after an audio recording was leaked of a jailed former intelligence adviser who was a close collaborator to former president seeking to influence the vote in favor of Keiko Fujimori.

The Navy has said it will investigate phone calls from his prison on a naval base and the current interim government has raised concerns about the revelation.

“We are outraged that an inmate appears on the scene at such a critical moment in our democratic life,” Prime Minister Violeta Bermúdez told reporters on Saturday.

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MEXICO CITY, June 27 (Reuters) – The hurricane Enrique barrelling northwards off Mexico’s Pacific coast may strengthen slightly overnight before weakening on Monday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Sunday, though part of Mexico remain at risk of flash floods.

Enrique, currently about 150 miles (241 km) south of Cabo Corrientes in western Jalisco state, is expected to remain parallel to the Mexican coast through the night, the NHC said in its latest report at 11 a.m. ET (1500 GMT).

“Some slight strengthening is possible through tonight,” NHC said. “Enrique is then expected to begin weakening on Monday and continue to weaken through early this week.”

However, Enrique is still expected to produce 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) of rain through to Tuesday, and in some places as much as 18 inches (46 cm) over Colima and coastal sections of Michoacan, Jalisco and Guerrero states, NHC said.

“These amounts would likely produce life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides over portions of southwestern Mexico,” NHC said.

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