Tag Archives: caribbean

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Migrant Caravan in Mexico Presses On, Meets Growing Resistance

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Migrants and asylum seekers from Central America and the Caribbean walk in a caravan headed to the Mexican capital to apply for asylum and refugee status, on a highway in Escuintla, in Chiapas state, Mexico August 31, 2021. REUTERS/Jacob Garcia
Migrants and asylum seekers from Central America and the Caribbean walk in a caravan headed to the Mexican capital to apply for asylum and refugee status, on a highway in Escuintla, in Chiapas state, Mexico August 31, 2021. REUTERS/Jacob Garcia

MAPASTEPEC, Mexico, Aug 31 (Reuters) – Mexican immigration agents and security forces stepped up efforts to halt the progress of a caravan of hundreds of Central American and Caribbean migrants as they moved toward Mexico City from southern Mexico on Tuesday.

Entire migrant families including many with young children arrived at two towns in the southern state of Chiapas, Mapastepec and Escuintla, after passing through the Mexican town of Tapachula near the Guatemalan border, according to Reuters witnesses.

The number of children seeking to cross Mexico to get to the United States has risen dramatically since the start of this year as many families try to flee poverty, violenceand natural disasters.

On Tuesday, troops from Mexico’s National Guard and agents from the National Migration Institute (INM) sought to break up the latest caravan, detaining some migrants, including minors, the Reuters witnesses said.

The Mexican government has deployed more troops to its border with Guatemala in a bid to reduce the flow of migrants in recent months, pressured by U.S. officials to take strong action.

“They took them away,” a Guatemalan migrant called Bertha said of her children. Bertha, a mother of five, declined to provide her surname due to fears of reprisals.

She tearfully described how three of her young sons were detained by authorities after she left them momentarily with others to go and buy food. The night before, she said one of her daughters was taken from her.

Reuters was not able to independently confirm her account and the INM did not reply to a request for comment.

Videos shared online showed altercations between INM agents and some migrants amid efforts by the administration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to contain what he has called “irregular” immigration.

According to INM data, more than 35,000 migrant minors have been identified by officials so far this year, a three-fold increase from the same period last year.

About a third were traveling alone, the data showed, and most came from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.

Reporting by Jose Torres in Mapastepec and Lizbeth Diaz in Mexico City; Writing by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa

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England: Black Surgeons Promoted Far Less than White Doctors–Study

Guardian

Black surgeons are far less likely to be promoted than their white colleagues, according to analysis of NHS medics’ careers in England.

Black men who were junior surgeons in 2010 were 27% less likely to be promoted to consultants than white men between 2016 and 2020, while black women were 42% less likely.

The stark evidence of a glass ceiling has raised warnings that treatment may suffer unless senior ranks are made more representative and “old boys’ networks” dismantled. The Royal College of Surgeons described the study of more than 3,000 doctors as “deeply concerning”.

Senior black doctors said the research matched their experiences and warned of a lack of support for minority doctors to pass the tests required to reach the best-paid ranks. It follows government research which identified racial barriers to promotion in the civil service and that almost a fifth of FTSE 100 companies have no ethnic minority board members.

“The most striking finding is that even when Indian women, white women and black men conform to white male patterns of working, the progression gap is wide and, in some cases, very wide,” said Prof Carol Woodhams of the University of Surrey Business school. “This is objective evidence that disadvantage against diverse groups in surgery is deep-rooted and a new progressive milieu in the NHS and the broader society has not yet translated into concrete and progressive outcomes.”

Citing figures that black women in the UK are four times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth, Elizabeth Egbase, a black woman of Nigerian heritage who became a permanent consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology in July, told the Guardian that improving the representation of black consultants was vital because “the workforce should represent the people we look after.”

She said the lack of existing black consultants makes it harder for junior surgeons to find their way up the ladder.

“We are having to figure out things more on our own rather than being given a cheat sheet,” she said, referring to the need to build a CV through publishing articles, speaking at conferences and accruing operating experience. “That tends to happen for people in a network and who have confidence. It used to be an old boys club and even though that has improved on gender, I don’t think it has on race.”

Tim Mitchell, vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons, said: “The findings of this research are deeply concerning – women and ethnic minorities must be fully represented throughout the ranks of the surgical profession. We recognise that more needs to be done to ensure that all can reach the top of the profession, regardless of their background, gender or race.”

Samantha Tross, who became the UK’s first black female orthopaedic consultant in 2005 having arrived from Guyana as a child, said hospitals should set targets for numbers of ethnic minority consultants.

“I certainly faced racism and sexism during my time as a trainee,” she said. “There were times when there were extra duties to be done and it was always me who was chosen. In one hospital, a consultant requested me to assist him in his private practice outside my training time. He made no offer to pay me, yet the previous white, male trainee [who] asked to do the same thing was paid. There was one time when a consultant said to me are you sure this is what you want to do – as a black woman, it would be hard for you to progress in orthopaedics.”

An NHS spokesperson said: “While more than four-fifths of NHS staff feel their organisation acts fairly with career progression and the number of women and people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds in senior surgical roles is increasing, there is more work to do – which is why the NHS is providing intensive support to local areas to increase the number of people from these groups working in senior roles.”

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Image of Bird at US-Mexico Border Wall Wins Contest

Mexican photographer Alejandro Prieto’s image of a bird at the US-Mexico border wall has won a prestigious photo contest.

Mr Prieto was named the grand prize winner of the Bird Photographer of the Year competition after his image was selected from 22,000 entries.

His winning photograph depicts a roadrunner bird that has stopped in front of the wall.

He says the image highlights the threat to biodiversity that the wall poses.

The US-Mexico border region is a delicate ecosystem with regular animal and bird migrations moving north and south on the American continent.

In this region, a number of species need to cross the border to mate with their genetically different cousins, including the endangered North American jaguar and the black bear, which was re-introduced to Texas in the 1990s.

“The border wall crosses deserts, mountains and even mangroves. It is not just desert, and is in fact very biodiverse with more than 1,500 animal and plant species threatened by the wall,” Mr Prieto said.

“I have watched many different animals reach the wall before turning around and heading back,” he added.

Mr Prieto, from Guadalajara, was awarded £5,000 ($6,877) for winning the Bird Photographer of the Year competition. Other categories included Young Bird Photographer of the Year and Urban Birds.

Mr Prieto has been documenting wildlife at the border for over a year. During that time, he said he faced harassment from border control and the constant presence of drug cartels.

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Nevis Encouraged to Celebrate Caribbean Wellness Day 2021 in Accordance with COVID-19 Protocols
NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS — The Nevis Health Promotion Unit (HPU) in the Ministry of Health is encouraging members of the public to participate in activities being organised for Caribbean Wellness Day observed annually on the second Saturday in September. The day seeks to draw awareness to non-communicable diseases in communities across the Caribbean.

This year’s activities are being scaled back to four due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ms. Shevanee Nisbett, Senior Health Educator at the unit, in an interview with the Department of Information on August 30, 2021, urged the public to participate in the tailored activities.

“I’m asking everyone to continue to support the Health Promotion Unit as we fight the non -communicable diseases in our community and the Caribbean and worldwide by taking part in our activities this year. The Caribbean Wellness Day overall theme is “Power through collective action” and the theme for 2021 is “In it together: Building healthy communities.”

“We are asking that persons please participate as usual and of course for all of our activities as well as the walk. All of the COVID-19 protocols will be adhered to. We ask that you come with your mask on. We ask that you bring your water. We ask that you social distance when you are there, whether we are exercising to warm up or when we are walking as well as hand sanitizers should be used,” she said.

Ms. Nisbett stated that there are four activities planned for this year.

“We have a few activities that would be highlighting Caribbean Wellness Day. The first one would be the Caribbean Wellness Yoga Series where we will have yoga happening on three Saturdays throughout the month…

“Our new activity this year which we have used to incorporate the COVID-19 protocols…we have created a campaign called “Let’s Face It: Wear a Mask.” … On Friday, September 10th is our annual Sneaker Day, and Sneaker Day turns 5 this year. So we are doing a little twist with it… Our last activity would be our Caribbean Wellness Walk which is our annual walk,” she said.

The yoga sessions will commence on Saturday, September 04 at the Nevisian Heritage Village. On September 18 and 25 the sessions will be held at the Nevis Artisan Village and at Fort Charles respectively. All sessions will begin at 7 a.m. and end at 8 a.m.

For the “Let’s Face It: Wear a Mask” challenge which specifically targets primary and secondary school students, they are to design masks which carry a health message which can be depicted in pictures or words and must be in a JPG or PNG format. All entries, one per participant, must be submitted via email to:  he*****************@****ov.com

For Sneaker Day which is in its 5th year, members of the public are asked to wear sneakers to work, school or casually to run errands, or just going about their day. That event is in effort to promote persons wearing comfortable shoes while encouraging them to be more active.

However, this year participants are being asked to be creative and design their masks and sneakers in colour or style making it part of their creative outfit for the day.Persons who take part in this event are asked to take a photograph with their sneakers on and post it to Nevis Hpu Facebook page using hashtags – #sneakerday2021, #maskon, #CashlessSKN. The most creative entrant will be awarded a prize.

For the Caribbean Wellness Day walk on Saturday, September 11, it will begin from at 5:30 a.m. with warm up exercises. The actual walk will commence at 6 a.m. from the entrance of Yachtsman Grill in Cotton Ground, moving along the Island Main Road through Charlestown and end at the Villa Grounds.

Ms. Nisbett explained how Nevis got involved in the observance of Caribbean Wellness Day which was created by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) to bring awareness to non-communicable diseases which she stated are burdening the health systems of the Caribbean.

“Every year we do a list of activities that would highlight non-communicable diseases, the effects it has on the community and what we can do to treat and prevent non-communicable diseases such as: hypertension, cancer, high cholesterol and diabetes for example,” she said.

 

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UK Study: Vaccine Passports Will Increase Reluctance to Get COVID Shots

Data comes as UK Prime Minister vows to press on with plan to make vaccination a condition of entry for nightclubs

The Piano Works in Farringdon, London, after reopening in July.
The Piano Works in Farringdon, London, after reopening in July. The nightclub sector is sceptical about vaccine passports. Photograph: Alberto Pezzali/AP

Imposing vaccine passports is likely to make hesitant people even more reluctant to get Covid jabs, research involving more than 16,000 people has found as Downing Street vowed to press ahead with the plan within a month.

Boris Johnson announced in July that the government would make it compulsory for nightclubs and other crowded indoor venues to ensure customers have been fully vaccinated before allowing them entry.

No details have yet been published, prompting speculation the plan would be ditched in the face of a backlash from Conservative backbenchers and business groups. But the prime minister’s official spokesperson said on Tuesday there was no change in the policy.

“We set out broadly our intention to require vaccination for nightclubs and some other settings. We will be coming forward in the coming weeks with detail for that,” he said.

As well as helping to protect clubbers from the virus, the move is aimed at boosting vaccine uptake – but the research, to be published in the Lancet journal EClinicalMedicine this month, suggests it could be counterproductive among the most hard-to-reach groups.

The survey was carried out in April when most people were either unvaccinated or had received only one dose of a vaccine. It suggested the groups that are less likely to get vaccinated – including the young, non-white ethnicities and non-English speakers – also view vaccine passports less positively.

“This creates a risk of creating a divided society wherein the majority are relatively secure but there remain pockets of lower vaccination where outbreaks can still occur,” the authors wrote in the paper, which is currently in preprint form.

The analysis involved 16,527 people, of whom 14,543 had not yet had both vaccine doses. In this group, the vast majority (87.8%) indicated their decision on being jabbed would not be affected by the introduction of passports.

However, of the remaining 12.2%, about two-thirds suggested they would be less likely to get vaccinated if passports were introduced, while the rest said they would be more inclined. Vaccine passports were viewed less negatively by this group if they were only required for international travel rather than domestic use.

The lead author Dr Alex de Figueiredo from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said these percentages become significant when scaled up to the whole population.

Younger age groups, black British ethnicities (compared with white people) and non-English speakers were more likely to express a lower inclination to get vaccinated if passports were introduced. While these groups comprise a relatively small proportion of the UK population, they cluster geographically and tend to be less inclined to get vaccinated in the first place.

Evidence that imposing vaccine passports could have the reverse behavioural effect from that intended by ministers will strengthen the hand of Tory backbenchers determined to see off the plan if it comes to a vote in the House of Commons.

Labour has also expressed concerns, suggesting a system that included Covid testing as an alternative to vaccination would be a better approach since fully jabbed individuals can still catch and pass on the virus.

Research into the behavioural effects of vaccine passports suggests the scheme triggers social division, said Prof John Drury, a participant in the Sage subcommittee advising on behavioural science, who was speaking in a personal capacity and not involved in the survey.

“Not only would vaccine passports create exclusion, that exclusion would be structured by existing inequalities. You only need to look at the data on who isn’t yet vaccinated to understand this – the young, the poor, ethnic minorities stand to be excluded.”

The negative impact of vaccine passports – once the underlying intention to get jabbed was accounted for in the survey – was disproportionately found in males and highly educated people. It’s unclear why that is, said de Figueiredo.

The study echoes historical data that suggests those who are already medically disfranchised will not be made more receptive to jabs by the introduction of more coercive measures, according to Caitjan Gainty, a senior lecturer in the history of science, technology and medicine at King’s College London, who was not involved in the survey study.

Another issue with vaccine passports, especially in light of the highly infectious Delta variant of coronavirus, is their weak scientific basis, scientists say. Someone who is double-jabbed is still half as likely to be infected as someone unvaccinated, notes Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia.

Many people will have been vaccinated to get their freedoms back, but with high rates of breakthrough infections it’s not impossible that freedoms could be taken away or made conditional on further doses, adds de Figueiredo. “This could be rather problematic as people may tire of this, may start refusing vaccines, and it’s not improbable that this rubs off on other vaccinations.”

Proposals for vaccine passports have been met with scepticism from Britain’s nightclub sector, which warns it could harm their recovery, while live music industry representatives expressed a preference for the current entry requirement for most venues and festivals – which allows the choice of providing proof of double-vaccination or recovery from Covid or a negative test.

Vaccine passport schemes introduced abroad have evolved in different directions and triggered varied reactions. In France, tens of thousands protested over a health pass allowing people to access restaurants, bars, planes and trains. The government this week extended the mandate to certain categories of staff.

Denmark’s “coronapas” system has been in operation since April but is being dropped from 10 September as authorities believe the virus is no longer a “critical threat” to society. Bars, cafes, restaurants, museums and tattooists have been open for anyone who can show a negative test result less than 72 hours old, or a completed vaccination, using a digital certificate.

Israel, which has been at the forefront of the jabs rollout, has had a “green pass” for much of the year. It released an app in February showing whether people have been fully vaccinated against Covid or have presumed immunity after contracting the disease.

A QR code system introduced last year in China categorised people into different colours, with green allowing them to move around freely if QR codes are requested in public spaces for entry.

 

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African Swine Fever Detected in Domincan Republic

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On July 28, 2021, the USDA’s foreign animal disease diagnostic laboratory confirmed a wild type African Swine Fever (ASF) in eight samples collected from hogs in the Dominican Republic.

From there, the entire organization moved in full swing, immediately notifying the Chief Veterinary Officer in the Dominican Republic, who notified the World Health Organization for Animal Health (OIE), and started the process of looking more closely into what we could do to protect both Dominican pork, but also prevent spread to the U.S.

Considering this is the first outbreak of ASF in the Americas in 40 years, USDA and other government agencies are taking this threat very seriously and working swiftly to mitigate any potential risks.

Here are some of the steps they’re taking, according to Dr. Rosemary Sifford, Associate Administrator with USDA’s Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

Overview of the ASF situation in the Dominican Republic.

Since 2019, the USDA has engaged in cooperative surveillance with the Dominican Republic to ensure the safety of pork and pork producers coming into the U.S. Currently, the USDA collects samples from 19 of the 32 provinces in the Dominican Republic.

About a month ago, these regular quarterly testing efforts revealed ASF-positive samples from two separate provinces — Monte Christi and Sanchez — which are 100 miles apart. The samples were drawn from a priority set, meaning the animals were showing clinical signs of ASF.

Because ASF can be easily transmitted via fomites, or materials that can carry the infection from host to host, USDA has ramped up their vigilance about how to keep the virus out of the U.S. The biggest risk comes because the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, are just over 200 miles apart — a relatively short distance in global terms.

Although the Dominican Republic is leading their response, the U.S. is providing key testing support, as well as personal protective equipment (PPE) for their staff.

Coordination with other U.S. government entities.

USDA continues to consult with other U.S. and world government officials about how best to support these response and mitigation measures. These include the Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, the U.S Coast Guard, and the Puerto Rican government, as well as the government of nearby island Haiti and the United Nations.

The top priority is quickly containing and controlling the outbreak within the Dominican Republic, both to protect the Dominican pork herd as well as to stop spread to the U.S. Specifically, CBP is working to step up their surveillance efforts to keep any and all prohibited products from entering the country.

For example, a major threat comes in the form of garbage disposal from other countries. Many ships and airplanes have foreign garbage and food waste that could carry the virus, so there’s an effort to ensure proper disposal systems are in place.

USDA is also working with other federal agencies to share information and see if there are other support mechanisms at their disposal, as well as partnering with state governments to get the message out as much as possible.

In addition, on August 6th there was a federal order establishing additional requirements for importing dogs from countries where ASF exists. Dogs, their bedding, and other materials present a risk pathway. Dogs must now be bathed and the bedding properly disposed of, and the crates properly cleaned before they move any further within the U.S.

Additionally, wildlife services are working to conduct feral swine control. There has been a plan to eradicate feral swine over a six year period, but in the wake of this outbreak, more resources are now being put into that plan, with the goal of cutting the population in half over the next 15-18 months.

However, there is good news. Because classical swine fever has existed in the Caribbean for quite a while, many of these mitigations are already in place. USDA’s goal is to build on current infrastructure to enhance their effectiveness.

Outreach & education efforts.

Risk mitigation can’t happen without public engagement. USDA is leveraging social media campaigns to share information materials in Spanish, French, Portuguese, Hmong, and traditional Chinese to educate all populations about the risks and how to avoid them.

Most of these educational efforts focus on the producer, and increasing their awareness of the clinical signs of ASF in pigs. These include death, high fever, loss of appetite, depression, red skin, vomiting, diarrhea, respiratory distress, and abortions.

USDA is asking if any producers see these signs, that they report them immediately to a veterinarian or state animal health official to give them the opportunity to find evidence of the disease as early as possible.

There are also additional biosecurity practices that USDA is educating producers on. This includes properly cooking any garbage before feeding, limiting interfaces with feral swine, truck washing, and being careful during personnel entry and exit.

The big question: What if there’s a positive ASF case in the U.S.?

If USDA was to detect an ASF-positive case in the U.S., it would trigger federal, state, tribal, and local emergency response plans. These highly detailed plans contain a number of strategies to respond to emergencies like disease outbreak.

One of the biggest concerns is that OIE doesn’t differentiate between a country and their territories. So if the virus jumped from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico, the entire U.S. would be considered “affected,” significantly disrupting U.S. trade patterns.

In that case, USDA would work with trading partners to regionalize the U.S. mainland by demonstrating that there are mitigations in place that protect the mainland from trade with Puerto Rico.

There would also be a mandatory 72-hour movement standstill implemented, that would require all live swine and semen movements to stop during that time, giving USDA the opportunity to evaluate where exactly there’s an issue and what the extent of the issue is, and hopefully get some control measures back in place. USDA would also hope that there are plans to get things restarted as quickly as possible in the event of a national standstill.

Since there’s currently no treatment and no vaccine for ASF, quarantine and movement controls are the only tools we have to treat the virus. This is why early response and risk mitigation is so critical, and why USDA is taking bold steps now to keep our herds and food supply safe.

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A Record: At Least 55 Millionaires Standing for Seats in Bahamas Parliament

Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis (Left) and Opposition Leader, Phillip Davis (File Photo)

More than 55 millionaires are seeking a seat in the Bahamas parliament in the September 16 general election, according to the full list of 2021 financial declarations published in the media here on Monday.

According to the list published in the Tribune newspaper, the list makes the Bahamas, the only Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country where so many millionaires are seeking to enter parliament in a general election.

In the last general election, the Free National Movement won 35 of the 39 seats with the others going to the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP).

According to the published declarations based on the financial disclosures submitted to the Parliamentary Registration Department, Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar tops the list of millionaire candidates with a total net worth of US$37.9 million.

D’Aguilar, who lists himself as a business executive, has total assets of US$36.8 million, an annual income of US$1.4 million and liabilities of US$345,013. He lists among his assets more than US$32 million in securities and investments and an estimated three million dollars in real estate.

The second highest millionaire candidate is Chester Cooper of the PLP, who is estimated to be worth US$14.8 million with an income of US$370,000. The bulk of his assets is investments and in real estate, worth US$11 million and three million dollars respectively.

Both leaders of the two main political parties are millionaires.

According to the declared financial declarations, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis, who is seeking a second consecutive term in power, is worth US$14.04 million. In 2017, Minnis, a prominent medical practitioner was worth US$12. 6 million.

The PLP leader, Philip “Brave” Davis, has listed his assets at US$4.1 million down from the US$4.3 million, the Queen Counsel had filed in 2017.

The leader of the small opposition, Democratic National Alliance (DNA), Arinthia Komolafe, has assets worth more than one million US dollars while her net worth falls short of the millionaires club at US$640,900.

Kevin King of the newly formed Kingdom Government Movement (KGM) lists his net worth as US$53.1 million, making him the wealthiest person on the list.. The physician and political newcomer said his assets include US$35 million in securities and eight million US dollars in real estate. However, his total income is listed as US$38,500.

Another KGM candidate, Rollington Cooper, Jr, lists himself as a multimillionaire with a net worth of $13.4 million with the bulk of these assets, estimated at US$13.9 million being in real estate. He said his total income is only US$500 however with US$588,000 in liabilities.

Among the others listed on the millionaire’s club are former health minister, Dr Duane Sands, Stephen Greenslade Michael Foulkes, Adrian Gibson, Minister of Environment Romi Ferreira, the Minister of Agriculture Michael Pintard, the Minister of National Security Marvin Dames and Minister of Education Jeff Lloyd.

The Tribune newspaper reported that officials from the Parliamentary Registration Department and Public Disclosure Commission said they were not responsible for verifying the data put forward by candidates, insisting that responsibility lies with other government agencies.

CMC/

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US: Latest Surge Adds to Nationwide Frustration, Tracking Lambda Variant, World Stats

COVID-19 frustrations rise alongside delta surge, school reopenings

By Niall Stanage

The Hill

A nation exhausted by 18 months of the pandemic is trying to figure out what lies ahead. Frustratingly, there may not be a nationwide answer.

The latest figures show a flattening of new COVID-19 cases in some of the states that have been worst hit by the delta variant. But other states are suffering explosive rises.

The average number of new cases has rocketed in West Virginia, for example, where average daily infections were up 252 percent in the 14 days to Sunday, according to New York Times data.

The daily average for infections has shot up 77 percent in Ohio, 72 percent in Indiana and 67 percent in Kentucky, the home state of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R).

McConnell, a polio survivor, has been more vigorous than many others in his party in urging vaccinations.

At the same time, new cases have fallen by 27 percent in Louisiana and 7 percent in Mississippi, two of the states that had been worst affected by the recent spike.

Three other states that had been hard-hit are seeing increases, but at a slower rate than before. Daily cases in Florida and Texas have each increased by 5 percent over the last 14 days, and by 3 percent in Alabama.

“That rise and fall will happen at different times and in different places” over the coming months, said Neil Sehgal, an assistant professor of health policy and management at the University of Maryland School of Public Health.

“It’s a relief anytime we see cases decline somewhere that has really been ravaged by COVID. At the same time, positive news in one part of the county doesn’t necessarily translate nationally.”

The question of what comes next is particularly pertinent right now.

Schools across the nation are returning to in-person learning for the first time since the pandemic began. In the process, they are lifting an emotional and logistical burden from parents and facilitating a return to the full-time workforce for many.

But a continued rise in COVID-19 cases could endanger that process.

New figures show COVID-19-related hospitalizations of people under 18 at their highest since the pandemic began, though such cases remain very rare overall.

The more widespread danger could be school years marked by frequent and unpredictable disruptions. On Monday, for example, a school district near Houston announced a COVID-19-related weeklong shutdown just two weeks into the academic year.

Kavita Patel, a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution and a practicing physician, said “how schools factor into this” is one of the crucial unknowns. One possibility, she suggested, was that “we could see an incredible uptick in cases but no increase in hospitalizations.”

Other public health experts sound an even more ominous tone, given that children under 12 remain ineligible for vaccination.

“No one would consider it appropriate to put 20 or 30 unvaccinated adults in a room all day, with poor ventilation and have them sit there for hours at a time in the middle of the delta surge. Why do we think we should do this with children?” said Leana Wen, a practicing physician and a former Baltimore health commissioner. “It is something I really worry about.”

Overall, the U.S. has seen a 20 percent rise in new cases of COVID-19 over the last two weeks, according to the New York Times data.

Average daily hospitalizations are more than 100,000, their highest level in eight months. Around 1,300 Americans are dying every day from COVID-19. The virus has now claimed around 637,000 lives in the U.S., and an estimated 4.5 million around the world.

The trajectory of what comes next will decide the fate of many Americans’ lives. It will also have a central bearing on how President Biden and a number of other prominent politicians are viewed by the public.

Biden, having received high marks from voters for his handling of the pandemic in his early months in office, has seen his ratings slide into more ambivalent territory. An NBC News poll earlier this month showed 53 percent approval for Biden’s approach to COVID-19 — a sharp decline from 69 percent in April.

Some conservative governors, notably Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), have become leading foils of Biden, each issuing anti-mask mandate executive orders.

DeSantis and Abbott are considered potential candidates for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. They also face gubernatorial reelection battles next year.

The political battle took a new turn Monday, when the Department of Education opened civil rights investigations into five states that have imposed restrictions on mask mandates in schools.

The investigation is premised on the possibility that those states could have infringed upon the rights of students who are at higher risk because of underlying conditions.

A few days earlier, a Florida judge ruled that the state could not levy penalties against school districts that introduced mask mandates.

But as those battles play out, one truth remains: The future path of the virus is almost impossible to chart with confidence.

“Another thing we have learned in the pandemic is that prognostication is difficult and we almost certainly are going to be wrong,” said Wen.

“If we are able to get vaccinations up and there are mitigation measures put in place, including in schools, we could get past the surge. But what if there is a new variant that develops that is even more contagious and even more deadly?”

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Cleveland Clinic, Florida officials tracking Lambda variant of COVID-19

48 2 minute read

 

Nassau Guardian– Medical experts at Cleveland Clinic Florida are tracking a new highly contagious variant of the COVID-19 SARS virus, the Lambda variant, but warning it is too early to predict its impact.

“While worldwide attention has been focused on the Delta variant, the emergence of yet another variant in a continuing evolution of this virus is further evidence of the need to continue exercising every precaution and doing all we can to expedite and encourage vaccination for as many people as possible,” said Dr. Lyssette Cardona, infectious disease specialist. “The earliest documented samples of the Lambda variant were recorded in Peru in December 2020; and in June, the World Health Organization officially noted that the Lambda variant was on its radar.”

So far, the Lambda variant has been identified in 29 countries.

The Lambda variant is highly infectious and may be even more vaccine-resistant than previous incarnations of the virus that has caused more than 4.4 million deaths worldwide, including over 340 in The Bahamas where both the public and private healthcare facilities are straining at the seams.

“In the end,” said Cardona, “the shape-shifting nature of the coronavirus, like all viruses, causes doctors and experts around the world to keep a close eye on, though at this time, we do not believe the Lambda variant will change the way we have to deal with and confront this virus. It is part of the fast-paced evolution of the virus and that is ultimately what we must maintain our level of vigilance to observe, track and treat, but most importantly encourage everyone to do what they can individually to prevent being impacted themselves or spreading the disease to others in their family or community.”

Experts stress that while the vaccine may not prevent someone from getting the diseases, it greatly improves their chances of survival with the latest figures making the unvaccinated 29 times more likely to die from COVID than those who contract it even though they are fully vaccinated.

The Bahamas’ National COVID-19 Vaccine Consultative Committee’s latest vaccine tracker chart shows only 14 percent of the population is fully vaccinated (56,000 out of a population of 400,000), well below the target of 70-85 percent needed for herd immunity.

“These new waves of infections show that the pandemic is not close to being over yet,” said Cardona. “At this time, vaccination has proven to be our most effective tool, and vaccines are readily available for many children and adults. Vaccinations are our best defense against these emerging mutations.”

According to Dr. Merceline Dahl-Regis, chairperson of Bahamas National COVID-19 Vaccine Consultative Committee, the vaccine committee hopes to vaccinate over 60,000 residents within the next six weeks. There are also 19,240 AstraZeneca vaccine doses available for distribution.

“The best way for everyone in The Bahamas to protect themselves and prevent more surges from happening in the future is to get vaccinated and follow established protocols,” said Dahl-Regis.

================================================

WORLD STATS

Coronavirus Cases:

218,568,144

Deaths:

4,534,152

Recovered:

195,403,022
Highlighted in green
= all cases have recovered from the infection
Highlighted in grey
= all cases have had an outcome (there are no active cases)

[back to top ↑]

Latest News

September 1 (GMT)

Updates

  • 412 new cases and 23

 

The post US: Latest Surge Adds to Nationwide Frustration, Tracking Lambda Variant, World Stats appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Police Investigating Circumstances Surrounding Man’S Death

The Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of 39-year-old Wilson Dore of Bath Village. Dore’s body was found partially clothed in Bath Village at about 7:30 p.m. on August 29, 2021. The District Medical Officer arrived at the scene and pronounced him dead. An autopsy has been scheduled to determine the exact cause of death.

Persons with information about this incident are urged to contact the Charlestown Police Station by dialling 469-5391, the nearest Police Station or the Crime Hotline at 707. Investigations into the matter are ongoing.

The post Police Investigating Circumstances Surrounding Man’S Death appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Depressed Econmies: T&T, Barbados Given IMF Cash Lifelines

The Trinidad and Tobago government will hold a three day retreat in Tobago this week, amid concerns that there is need for a serious re-examination of the existing socio economic policies occasioned by the coronavirus (COVID019) pandemic.

Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley, speaking on a television program on Tuesday, said also that the recent decision by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to allocate an estimated US $644 million to Trinidad and Tobago from the largest allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) in its history, will also be an agenda item at the retreat.

Minister “This pandemic has affected us three times as bad …and it is so widespread and all pervasive in that the global financial crisis basically was dealing with people who had money and was losing money and those who did not have, have nothing to lose,” he told the “Brighter Morning with Bhoe” program hosted by former government minister Dr. Bhoe Tewarie.

“But this pandemic affects every body…in the world and it has a much larger damaging impact on the world’s economies and that is why the IMF has come in. I mean why you read, like here in the CARICOM (Caribbean Community) some countries are pointing to a huge percentage of loss in GDP (gross domestic product), here in Trinidad and Tobago we are still trying to assess  the extent of the loss of our GDP simply by being in this pandemic situation.

“If you look at what is happening in the big economies in the world, how much hundreds of billions are loss simply because having to respond to the pandemic, here in Trinidad and Tobago when we stayed home for a month …earning nothing, shutting down everything, you could imagine the effect that is having

Crisis Many Times More Devastating

Rowley told his audience that the Washington-based financial institution has recognized that this is a crisis that is many times more devastating than the global financial crisis that was experienced in 2009.

“We are very happy for their response and our share of that support is going to be utilized much to our benefit,” Rowley said, adding that from time to time when “one speaks of the IMF, they speak of the old guard they know, but on this occasion I hope you understand being a member of the IMF has its great benefit.

IMF managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, said that the US$650 billion SDR allocation is a significant shot in the arm for the world and, if used wisely, a unique opportunity to combat this unprecedented crisis.

“SDRs are being distributed to countries in proportion to their quota shares in the IMF. This means about US$275 billion is going to emerging and developing countries, of which low-income countries will receive about US$21 billion, equivalent to as much as six per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in some cases,” she said.

“Countries can use the space provided by the SDR allocation to support their economies and step up their fight against the crisis,” she added.

Funds will strengthen  Trinidad and Tobago Position

Rowley said that Trinidad and Tobago would use its allocation  “mainly to strengthen our position going forward encouraging export marketing, ensuring that we can fund the recovery that has to be done in a variety of ways and it is going to prevent us from having to borrow as much as we would have had to borrow from other sources if we were without this kind of support.

Asked whether the new funding would also be used to assist in both import or export substitution for local businesses, Rowley replied “absolutely.

“What we will be using it for is to ensure that what we wanted to and would have been funded by the scare resources or the expensive we will have to find. We are going to have to support those who are engaged in that activity (export marketing) and it will be whatever that is to help us get into the market place and to earn from that market”.

He said the funds would also help to provide a number of businesses that would have used up their resources to sustain them during the pandemic and allow for their re-entry into the market “strong and productive.

“We have to come up with modules of expenditure, very carefully administered to allow this funding to be had without it being a largess or a gift which does not solve the problem and we already doing that and I could tell you the Cabinet meets in retreat next week in Tobago for three days and this is the kind of thing we will be focusing on.

“There will be certain shifts that we will have to make,” Rowley said, noting that much of government’s revenue is spent on subsidies.

“I know once you mention that people begin to see oh hardship because without these subsidies you are going to have hardship…but if we don’t address these things we end up requiring more and more of that kind of support which is unproductive,” Rowley said, noting that Trinidad and Tobago had spent an estimated TT$30 billion (one TT dollar=US$0.16 cents) on subsidizing fuel in recent years.

“If one is to be honest and ask ourselves look at where we are now. Suppose we had not done that and we had used most of that money either in savings or in doing other productive things, wont we have been better off because we subsidize fuel for everybody in the country.

Subsidies and Disruptions

‘You buy a million dollar car and the state is subsidizing your fuel. Is that a good idea? And we have to address these things frontally and fairly and honestly and this pandemic is pushing us in that direction if we were not going there before because there is no other way out.

“We have to do things differently  and there might be some disruption before, but we hoping as we do them we will minimize those disruptions, the inconvenience and the hurt and build a new platform that gives our children a more confident future,” Rowley told the television program.

CMC

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Barbados Economy “Remains Severely Depressed.”

Bert-Van-Selm

A delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Friday ended a visit to the island, indicating that the Barbados economy “remains severely depressed” as a result of the ongoing global coronavirus (COVID019) pandemic.

The IMF delegation, headed by Bert van Selm had conducted a staff visit via videoconferencing between August 24-27 at the invitation of the Barbados government of Prime Minister Mia Motley.

According to a statement issued here, while tourism is expected to recover gradually in the second half of 2021 and the first half of 2022, risks to the outlook remain.

But the IMF official said that despite this very challenging environment, Barbados continues to make good progress in implementing its ambitious and comprehensive economic reform program, while expanding critical investments in social protection.

It said indicative targets under the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF)-supported program for end-June 2021 were met, and since then international reserves have been further boosted by the recent global  special drawing rights (SDR) allocation.

The head of the IMF delegation said that the tourism activity has picked up in recent months but remains at a fraction of normal levels.

“The economy is estimated to have grown 5.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2021 relative to the second quarter of 2020,” he said, noting that Hurricane Elsa, a category one storm struck Barbados in July and caused significant damage to the island’s housing.

“Economic growth for the second half of 2021 and the first half of 2022 is premised on a gradual recovery of tourism,” the IMF official added.

He said in this very challenging environment, Barbados continues to make good progress in implementing its ambitious and comprehensive economic reform program, while expanding critical investments in social protection.

“Indicative targets for end-June under the EFF were met. The global SDR allocation that became effective on August 23, 2021, including an allocation of about US$129 million to Barbados, has further boosted international reserves, to more than US$1.4 billion.

“”Structural reforms are ongoing, and structural benchmarks under the EFF were met. The government developed plans to recapitalize the Central Bank of Barbados and address medium and long-term challenges for the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) stemming from the debt restructuring and the COVID pandemic, and recapitalization of the NIS has started.”

He said that a medium-term fiscal framework was tabled in Parliament to enhance transparency and accountability in fiscal policy, while retaining sufficient flexibility to respond to the pandemic and other economic shocks.

The IMF official said that the delegation is looking forward to conducting discussions for the sixth review under the EFF in November.

Barbados entered into a four-year US$290 million EFF arrangement with the IMF in October 2018 and following a virtual mission between May 3-7, the Washington-based financial institution said then that the island would receive US$24 million.

CMC/

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