Daily Archive: Friday, March 27, 2020

The UN System today called on the Guyana Government to impose more stringent measures to stem COVID-19.

(Trinidad Express) National Security Minister Stuart Young has listed what would be considered essential services as of Monday.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The Department of Correctional Services says sanctions are to be laid against murder convict Adidja Palmer, better known as Vybz Kartel, following the seizure of contraband in his cell.

(Jamaica Star) Veteran reggae singer, and prolific songwriter, Keith ‘Bob Andy’ Anderson, has died.

A Guyanese Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) bus operator in New York with 21 years on the job died from coronavirus yesterday, the second member of the agency’s workforce to succumb to the disease.

(Trinidad Express) Two people in a car were crushed to death by the trailer of a truck in Tableland on Thursday night.

(Trinidad Guardian) Another person who was quarantined at Camp Balandra has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

(Jamaica Star) Ermine, a Jamaican who has lived in Brooklyn, New York, says she is extremely worried about COVID-19.

(Jamaica Star) After 10 months of planning for the perfect day to tie the knot, Gabrielle Leslie and her groom-to-be, John Osborne, have been forced to postpone their wedding.

MADRID,  (Reuters) – Spain’s death toll from the coronavirus rose by 769 overnight to 4,858, but a senior health official said the daily increase in the number of fatalities was stabilising.

KUALA LUMPUR,  (Reuters) – A global shortage of condoms is looming, the world’s biggest producer said, after a coronavirus lockdown forced it to shut down production.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said today he had tested positive for coronavirus and was self-isolating at Downing Street but would still lead the government’s response to the accelerating outbreak.

Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) retired Justice Claudette Singh has “withdrawn” from the High Court an incorrect affidavit filed on her behalf in response to the case brought by APNU+AFC candidate Ulita Moore challenging a recount of votes.

Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence yesterday announced that the number of confirmed novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the country remained at five, even as 166 persons were in quarantine.

General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday declared that no matter the ruling of the High Court on the matter of a recount, the tabulation of the votes cast on March 2 will remain fraudulent.

The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) is expected to donate four ventilators to Guyana this week to be specifically used to assist novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients should they start experiencing critical symptoms.

Region Ten will be instituting a two-week nightly curfew beginning tomorrow in an effort to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

MUMBAI (Reuters) – The International Cricket Council (ICC) said yesterday that all qualifying events for the 2021 Twenty20 World Cup and 50-overs version in 2023 that were scheduled to be held before June 30 have been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

TOKYO/LAUSANNE (Reuters) – Officials in charge of staging Tokyo’s Olympic Games crowded around a low table inside Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s residence late Tuesday, wincing as they spoke by phone with the head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Although he acknowledged that threatened sanctions are a concern, APNU+AFC campaign co-chair Joseph Harmon is not backing away from supporting results delivered by the Region Four Returning Officer (RO) which have been widely described both here and abroad as rigged.

One of Guyana’s junior coaches, Colin France, is hopeful that Guyana can host this year’s International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Caribbean Hopes training camp in August.

Following the confirmation of a case of coronavirus (COVID-19) in a Brazilian town close to Lethem in Region Nine, the newly-formed Regional Health Emergency Committee (RHEC) is seeking approval of a number of precautionary measures, including a curfew and the closing of the border with Brazil for an initial two-week period.

With the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) now a global pandemic, basketball’s governing body, FIBA, has suspended all competitions and programmes indefinitely, forcing the possible rescheduling of the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Championship and the FIBA AmeriCup Qualifiers to 2021.

Some of the persons who returned from Barbados on Wednesday are fearful that the conditions inside the facility where they are being mandatorily quarantined, including the bathrooms and toilets, are unhygienic and could put them at risk of contracting the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

In recognition of the impact of Covid-19 on the education system and more specifically on the schedule of the its regional examination, the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has introduced a “modified” examination process.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Cricket West Indies (CWI) vice president Dr Kishore Shallow has given the organisation’s administration a passing grade for its first year in office, pointing to improvements in just about all areas of the 10-point plan which the Ricky Skerritt-led team had used as a platform for election.

Dear Editor, The departure of foreign observers and the inhibition of their return by the pandemic virus has made it incumbent on me and other local observers to continue our work here more urgently.

Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan on Wednesday evening stated that drastic measures, which may include the revocation of bar licences may have to be taken to promote social distancing in order to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

BERN (Reuters) – European football clubs have been told by their umbrella organisation that they face an “existential threat” over the standstill caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

PARIS (Reuters) – It is too soon to decide whether the Tour de France can go ahead amid the coronavirus pandemic, but if it does it may be without roadside spectators in order to minimise infection risk, the French sports minister said.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) is taking steps to help safeguard its customers and employees.

Dear Editor, It has been brought to the attention of the Guyana Elections Commission that there is a whatsApp message circulating with a claim that `GECOM is now restricting party agents from moving around containers to ensure that they are safe and have not been compromised.’

The outbreak and subsequent spread of the Coronavirus has had a “devastating effect” on the global oil & gas industry and the likelihood that the effects could be felt in the current phase of Guyana’s fledgling oil & gas sector, which is proceeding under the control of the US super major, ExxonMobil, cannot, it seems, be ruled out.

PARIS (Reuters) – Michel Hidalgo, who coached current world champions France to their first major soccer title at the 1984 European Championship, has died at the age of 87.

Dear Editor, Attention is drawn to a report in Stabroek News that notwithstanding GECOM’s advice that it will await the Court’s decision on the recount, “Analysts have argued that the broad powers conferred on GECOM by the constitution permit it to continue taking necessary actions and that ultimately the Chair of the Com-mission Claudette Singh will have to ensure that a recount of the votes of Region Four is done as she has given an undertaking to Chief Justice Roxane George” (26th March, 2020 ‘GECOM says awaiting court ruling before any further actions -Claudette Singh facing key decisions’.)

The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has joined forces with the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) and the Guyana Labour Union (GLU) to combat the threat of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the sugar industry.

There has always been a tendency, even in circumstances of presumed emergency, for Guyanese, on the whole, to strike a ‘business as usual posture,’ or else to trust what we customarily call ‘pot luck,’ that whatever danger may be ‘out there,’ we will, somehow, ‘dodge the bullet.’

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Despite Trinidad and Tobago Red Force not winning the four-day West Indies Championship, coach Mervyn Dillon says he achieved what he set out to by finishing in the top three of the six-franchise team tournament.

Dear Editor, I have noted the continued commentaries coming from self-styled defenders of good governance over the past few weeks, who have, not only been vocal, but undeniably opportunistic, I believe, in their calls for executive power sharing.

In an effort to contribute to the strategy of social distancing to fight the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19), the Giftland Mall will be closed temporarily from April 1, until further notice.

Dear Editor, Re: GPO blunting the threat of COVID-19 This senior citizen has not seen the actual notice issued by the GPO regarding the captioned subject.

TOKYO (Reuters) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is working with sports bodies to arrange a July-August window for the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and hopes to confirm the schedule within a month, Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper reported yesterday.

It was not so much her own passion as it was her late mother’s that took Rehana Agard into the hair care and beauty industry. 

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ramps Logistics recently took to social media to express his concern about the seriousness of the COVID-19 outbreak in Guyana.

Dear Editor, Please permit me to respond to an article in your newspaper Thursday 2020-03-26, captioned `Region Nine restricts land travel from coastal areas over COVID-19’.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Staying home during the national lockdown to contain the coronavirus is like “nirvana” for Australian cricketers as they generally have to live out of a suitcase, head coach Justin Langer has said.

As part of efforts to educate the public about the novel corona virus (COVID-19) and encourage social distancing and other preventative methods the Ministry of Public Health has released a jingle.

Global concerns over the spread of the coronavirus have forced countries around the world to close schools prematurely and for durations that cannot, in the immediate term, be determined, but while the World Bank accepts the eventuality as a regrettable necessity it says that there could be a high price to pay for keeping children out of school for what now seems likely to be an extended period. 

(Reuters) – Clubs playing in the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana have been offered an advance of up to 60% of their prize money so they can stay solvent during the coronavirus crisis, the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) said yesterday.

Dear Editor, Mr. Granger’s actions (or inactions), as well as those of GECOM’s, have again opened up the floodgates to a plethora of demands for that ever elusive concept of power-sharing (and constitutional reform).

(Jamaica Gleaner) Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kamina Johnson Smith, says the government has stepped in to help Jamaican hospitality workers who were stranded at an airport in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States due to cancelled flights.

Republic Bank has announced that it will compensate customers who were affected by the operational challenges experienced following the conversion to the new banking platform.

Crystal Ramlakan is a refreshingly unassuming person; as an artist she makes no pretence at possessing some coveted creative genius, fashioned from childhood and now matured into something that demands that the world sit up and pay attention.

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – The number of U.S. coronavirus infections climbed above 82,000 yesterday, surpassing the national tallies of China and Italy, as New York, New Orleans and other hot spots faced a surge in hospitalizations and looming shortages of supplies, staff and sick beds.

MADRID (Reuters) – Barcelona are taking measures to cut the wages of their players and staff to reduce the economic effects of the coronavirus crisis, the La Liga club said yesterday.

(Trinidad Express) The first COVID-19 victim to die in Trinidad and Tobago was Hansel “Hanny” Leon, a man who loved Carnival and well known for “beating the iron”.

Dear Editor, It is not if but when this caretaker APNU+AFC coalition regime will be removed from power.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The U.S. government yesterday indicted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and more than a dozen other top Venezuelan officials on charges of “narco-terrorism,” the latest escalation of the Trump administration’s pressure campaign aimed at ousting the socialist leader.

The two sisters who were accused of stabbing a 15-year-old student of the Linden Foundation Secondary School more than two months ago are to undergo counselling.

(Reuters) – South Korea’s football association yesterday called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to raise the age limit for the Tokyo Games in 2021 to ensure those players who helped their teams qualify are still eligible to compete.

GENEVA/WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – Global job losses from the coronavirus crisis could far exceed the 25 million estimated just days ago, U.N.

(Barbados Nation) Barbados will be under a curfew from tomorrow  March 28 to Tuesday, April 14, 2020.

Dear Editor, Today, Guyanese are faced with two extremely harmful conditions.

The Georgetown Chamber of Industry and Commerce (GCCI) has issued a number of recommendations that it feels would help stymie the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19).

*Prices only represent the average Wholesale Farmgate and Retail Prices at the above mentioned markets and are NOT prices set by the Guyana Marketing Corporation or Ministry of Agriculture.

Boating operators traversing the route between Parika and Supenaam have agreed to enforce social distancing on their vessels to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 among passengers.

(Reuters) – The coronavirus pandemic could kill more than 81,000 people in the United States in the next four months and may not subside until June, according to a data analysis done by University of Washington School of Medicine.

MANCHESTER, England, (Reuters) – Current contracts for players and coaches should be extended until the end of the delayed domestic soccer seasons, according to an internal FIFA document presented to its Coronavirus Working Group.

(Barbados Nation) Prime Minister Mia Mottley will undergo a medical procedure this weekend.

Dear Editor, It has now been in excess of three weeks since the March 02 polls, and virtually everything that can be said or condemned about the current crisis has been said. 

Kitco Market Data Gold Prices for the three day period ending Thursday March 26, 2020

BRASILIA,  (Reuters) – Brazil’s governors pressed President Jair Bolsonaro yesterday for more federal support in the coronavirus battle after he blasted them as job-killers and undermined their orders with a decree keeping churches open at evangelical preachers’ request.

There was something  chillingly blunt about what appeared to be as much an admonition as a warning from the resident representative of WHO/PAHO, Dr William Adu-Krow, a few days ago, about what he appears to  believe has been a dangerously delinquent public response to the strongly recommended ‘social distancing’ urging in the face of the current rampaging coronavirus.

Dear Editor,  On the eve of a decision by the court it has now been revealed a wrong affidavit in the recount matter was filed.

We are a people of long histories, short memories and limited visions.

– Concerning “Warrior-President” Volda Woe unto us in the middle these days.

(Trinidad Guardian) Minister of National Security Stuart Young has warned that Trinidad and Tobago nationals who recently returned home from abroad and have been told to self-quarantine will now face strong action if they breach the order.

The Aliann Pompey Invitational (API) will be suspended pending the announcement of the new date for the Olympics by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

GASCI (www.gasci.com/telephone Nº 223-6175/6) reports that session 870’s trading results showed consideration of $1,524,037 from 16,604 shares traded in 8 transactions as compared to session 869’s trading results which showed consideration of $225,429 from 2,709 shares traded in 4 transactions.

The UK did not learn the lesson from South Korea, and now Germany, that mass testing is the best route to managing the spread of the coronavirus – or rather, it learnt it too late.

The Judiciary of Guyana as part of its response to the local Covid-19 coronavirus threat, has made several amendments to its existing Court policies and protocols.