Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 16th 2021 (ZIZ News) The Government has further extended a previous travel advisory Applying to travellers from Brazil, the United Kingdom (UK) and South Africa.
Persons intending to travel from these aforementioned destinations are once again advised not to travel to St. Kitts and Nevis at this time.
The advisory which was originally issued on February 7, 2021 has been further extended for an additional 30 days, effective April 8, 2021.
The decision comes amid three new variants of Covid-19 – from Brazil, South Africa and the UK – being identified in a number of CARICOM territories since February.
According to a statement, these variants continue to be cause for concern for the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis, particularly as this UK mutation of the original virus is deemed to be far more transmissible and has a higher likelihood of death from the symptoms of Covid-19.
The statement advises that persons intending to travel from these aforementioned destinations must be approved by the Ministry of National Security, following the process stipulated on the online platform www.knatravelform.kn.
Citizens and legal residents returning from any of the aforementioned countries will not be denied reentry into the Country, but must also process their travel requests through the online platform www.knatravelform.kn.
]]>Paris, France, February 08, 2021: The Federation’s permanent delegate to UNESCO, Ambassador David Doyle, conferred this week with his counterpart, H.E. Ambassador Vishal V. Sharma, representing the Republic of India, in an exchange of views on UNESCO activities of mutual interest.
Discussions focused on India’s quest to secure a seat on the influential UNESCO World Heritage Committee, a body on which St. Kitts and Nevis sits for the past four years, and now enjoys the privilege of being the only SIDS (Small Island Developing States) member.
Both envoys agreed that India’s accession to this Committee would strengthen the Commonwealth presence on this Committee, currently comprising Uganda, Australia, South Africa, and the Federation.
India, a member of UNESCO since 1946, “has much to offer the UNESCO heritage community”, noted Ambassador Doyle, with such world-renowned sites as the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, and Jantar Mantar (Jaipur), making up its 28 world heritage monuments and sites.
The envoys discussed the latest IT techniques pioneered by India in creating virtual museums tracing important historical events in the country’s past. Given St. Kitts & Nevis’ work in reconstructing its own historical legacy, and updating its federal world heritage tentative list, it was felt that certain best practices employed in India could be meaningfully used in the Federation.
Ambassador Sharma, who was accredited as India’s permanent delegate to UNESCO in October 2020, had previously worked as part of the Project Team implementing the Museum on Prime Ministers at Teen Murti Bhawan, New Delhi, under the Ministry of Culture.
Underlining the importance of both countries being a member of the Commonwealth, Ambassador Doyle noted “the renewed interest with India’s presence at UNESCO to strengthen the Commonwealth Group to UNESCO”, a dedicated UNESCO committee comprising permanent delegates of the 54 UNESCO member states making up the Commonwealth. A large proportion of this Group is small island developing states seeking to have their voice heard at UNESCO, and at other important international organizations, and representing 20 percent of the UN membership.
The envoys agreed to work together in re-energizing the Commonwealth Group to UNESCO.
]]>WASHINGTON, D.C., January 28, 2021 (PAHO) Three new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which are raising concerns about possible heightened spread and severity of COVID-19, have been detected in 14 countries in the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported in a new Epidemiological Update.
“Mutations are an expected part of the spread of any virus,” said PAHO Incident Manager Sylvain Aldighieri. “That’s why we’re asking national and local authorities to continue to strengthen existing disease control activities, including monitoring COVID-19 closely. We need epidemiological surveillance, including expanding regional genomics surveillance, outbreak investigation, and contact tracing. Where appropriate, we need to adjust public health and social measures to reduce transmission.”
The PAHO update notes, “It has recently been documented that people infected with the VOC 202012/01 variant have a higher risk of death than people infected with other variants. Preliminary studies suggest that the 501Y.V2 variant is associated with a higher viral load, which could suggest a potential for greater transmissibility.”
Referring to the two variants detected in the United Kingdom and South Africa, Aldighieri said that so far, they do not appear to have generated community transmission in the region of the Americas. So far, cases appear to be limited to people travelling from the two countries or connected to people traveling from those countries.
The third variant, detected in the state of Amazonas, Brazil, is most prevalent locally and researchers have recently suggested a causal link with the increase observed during the last weeks in hospitalization in Manaus. “But it’s still early to conclude on the strength of the association between the emergence of the variant and the recent dynamics of transmission,” Aldighieri said.
Hitting a grim milestone, the number of deaths in the Americas due to COVID-19 reached 1,015,534 on Jan 26. The number of people infected with the disease in 56 countries and territories within the Americas reached 44,197,482.
During a recent press briefing, PAHO Director Carissa F. Etienne said, “The loss of one million people from this virus should serve as an urgent call that we must do more to protect ourselves and each other from getting sick. This includes strong calls to action to reinforce the public health measures that are needed now in each of the places that are seeing outbreaks.”
]]>Basseterre, St. Kitts, January 07, 2021 (SKNIS): There is a new variant strain of the SARS-CoV-2 found in South Africa and Nigeria, and a new variant spreading across most of England, reported the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Hazel Laws, during the January 06 National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) COVID-19 Press Briefing.
“The science seems to suggest that these three strains of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus are different,” she said. “The scientists seem to have done quite a bit of work on the new variant that is circulating in the United Kingdom (UK). What they are saying is that this new variant is highly more transmissible than the virus’ previous version.”
Because of this, the UK is experiencing a surge in the number of cases. Dr. Laws said that on January 05, 2021, the number of new daily confirmed cases in the UK topped 60,000 for the first time. The BBC stated that the number of patients in hospitals in the UK is 40 times higher than what they experienced during the first peak in 2020.
“As a result of that, England is in its third national lockdown coming into force yesterday and this may extend until approximately mid-February of this year,” said the Chief Medical Officer.
Dr. Laws stated that the new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is more transmissible at 56 to 70 percent than the previous forms; it spreads more easily between people; does not seem to make people sicker; however, it will spread faster and infect more people and because of this, the death toll will increase.
The Chief Medical Officer said that as a result of this, returning nationals from the UK must be quarantined (confined to their rooms) for the two-week quarantine period. They will then have the requisite RT-PCR test done. Once it is negative, they will be able to integrate into society.
“Once you are a returning national from the United Kingdom, you won’t be allowed to vacation in place,” she said. “You will be quarantined and confined to your rooms for the two-week period.”
According to the New York Times, the new variant has been found in Colorado and California. It is rare now in the United States. Dr. Laws stated that more testing needs to be done to determine the extent and ultimately its prevalence in the United States.
]]>Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 23, 2020 (SKNIS): British Airways (BA) flights between the United Kingdom (UK) and the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis have been suspended for two weeks, from Saturday, December 26, 2020, to Saturday, January 2, 2021, as a safety measure after a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 Virus (Novel Coronavirus) was discovered in the United Kingdom.
The announcement was made at the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) COVID-19 Briefing on December 23, 2020, by Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Hazel Laws.
The Federation joins several other countries worldwide in instituting the suspension to monitor the situation so as not to put their populations at risk.
On 14th December 2020, authorities in the United Kingdom reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) the new variant of the Novel Coronavirus.
Cases of the new variant have been detected outside of the UK. Cases were detected in Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, and South Africa, all resulting from travel.
Scientists have reported that the new variant of the Novel Coronavirus has higher transmissibility, estimated between 40 and 70 percent. However, their initial analysis suggests there is no change in the severity of illness or the mortality rate, no reports of poorer clinical outcomes, no higher mortality, and no specific population group that has been affected.
Additionally, there is currently no evidence that the mutations in the spike protein will affect vaccine efficacy.
]]>Commonwealth Speakers and Presiding Officers from Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom and KwaZulu-Natal have emphasised the importance of independent Parliaments and Legislatures and the adaptations that have been made, especially during the current COVID-19 global pandemic, during the second webinar on this topic organised by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. The CPA webinar for Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth provided a timely and unique opportunity to examine the nature of Parliaments as independent institutions in the context of COVID-19.
The first panelist was the CPA President, Hon. Anthony Rota, MP, Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada spoke about the Canadian Parliament’s experience of virtual proceedings during the current COVID-19 pandemic and the importance of a healthy and functioning Parliament to democracy. The Parliament of Canada has implemented hybrid proceedings as a temporary measure in consultation with both Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff and required the support of the Opposition to support emergency legislation.
Hon. Bridgid Annisette-George, Speaker of the House of Representatives at the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago spoke about maintaining parliamentary procedures for all Members of the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament, which was not suspended or restricted at any time. The Parliament had implemented strict screening processes and safety measures, including the reconfiguration of the chamber. Speaker Annisette-George also spoke about the ‘people-centered’ approach to working adopted by the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago that included working from home and staggered working for Members and parliamentary staff.
Rt Hon. Dame Eleanor Laing, MP, Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, spoke about the importance that the UK Parliament had placed on maintaining parliamentary sittings during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that Parliamentarians were able to continue to scrutinize the Executive. The UK Parliament has implemented ‘socially-distanced’ proceedings and has allowed some MPs to participate via video technology.
The Speaker of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature, Hon. Nontembeko ‘Ntobeko’ Boyce, MPL spoke about the experience of a provincial legislature in South Africa and the coordination with the national Government and local authorities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The legislature has continued sittings but also used IT technology and social distancing measures to ensure that safety was maintained.
Matthew Salik, Head of Parliamentary Development at the CPA Headquarters Secretariat spoke about the launch of the CPA’s Model Law for Independent Parliaments earlier this year and the CPA’s work with Commonwealth Legislatures on establishing Parliamentary Service Commissions and ensuring that Parliaments can remain robust, effective and independent institutions.
Speakers and Presiding Officers attended the CPA webinar from many Commonwealth Parliaments including Uganda, Mauritius, South Africa, Zambia, Malta, Alberta, Bermuda, Sierra Leone, Ontario, Lesotho, St Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Yukon, Saint Lucia, Cayman Islands, Guyana, Malawi, Seychelles, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Falkland Islands, Jersey, Western Cape and Gauteng.
The webinar was closed by the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Stephen Twigg who spoke about how Parliaments in the long-term can establish policies, strategies and powers to give them the necessary resources to function independently and effectively. It is important that Parliaments learn from the current pandemic and implement the necessary changes that are required. As democratic institutions, Commonwealth Parliaments must ensure public confidence in their ability to manage their affairs and to conduct their essential legislative, oversight and representative functions, especially during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
The CPA Headquarters Secretariat is providing assistance to Commonwealth Parliaments through its programme of seminars and its toolkits like the Model Law for Independent Parliaments and the CPA’s Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures to provide Legislatures with a robust framework of parliamentary procedures.
A recording of the ‘CPA webinar for Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth: COVID-19 and Independent Parliaments’ will be available for the benefit of all Commonwealth Parliaments on the CPA’s YouTube channel at: www.cpahq.org/cpahq/youtube.
To download a copy of the CPA’s toolkit on Model Law for Independent Parliaments please visit www.cpahq.org/cpahq/modellaw.
]]>In a letter to the Governor General of St. Kitts and Nevis, His Excellency Sir Samuel Weymouth Tapley Seaton, GCMG, CVO, QC, JP, LL.D, the president wrote “On the auspicious occasion of the celebration of the Independence Day of Saint Kitts and Nevis on 19th September 2020, the Government and people of the Republic of South Africa join me in conveying to Your Excellency, the Government and people of Saint Kitts and Nevis our warm greetings and sincere congratulations.”
He added “I take this opportunity to express the wish for Your Excellency’s good health, and also reaffirm our desire to further enhance and consolidate the excellent relations and bond of friendship that exist between our countries.”
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Cayman Islands, September 8, 2020 (Cayman Compass): On Saturday, nearly three dozen South African residents gathered at Governors Beach to join their voices with other protesters across the world.
“We have decided to come together in the Cayman Islands to stand in unity with everybody in South Africa and around the world to oppose corruption with the government within our country,” said Ramon De Beer, a ‘Move One Million’ supporter.
Clad in black Move One Million T-shirts and carrying homemade signs calling for unity and change, the supporters peacefully protested for three hours on the beach.
On Saturday, the official Move One Million Facebook page shared videos of protesters from across the world demonstrating and demanding change.
Tallis Wessels, another local supporter of the movement who attended the protest, told Cayman Compass he believes his voice, though seemingly small, could have a real tangible impact.
“Anything can make a difference; if there is enough collective energy out there, then we will definitely make a difference,” said Wessels. “If people in South Africa know that there are people internationally supporting them, then it will make a difference.”
De Beer said the South African protest movement is timely, as it comes amid at a time when racism is being focussed on in the US. He said he believes South Africa’s true strength lies in the uniting of all the different ethnicities.
“When you take what South Africa has been through, its history, we need everybody to stand together, we are the rainbow nation,” said De Beer. “When we all stand together, you can see stuff changing immensely.”
The group says it intends to continue mobilising support from around the world in the run-up to the 2024 South African elections.
“Anyone who would like to join the movement can find us on Facebook, by searching for Move One Million Cayman,” said Wessels. “It’s a very difficult situation for us to show support while living in a different country, but if we come together that collective energy will make a difference.”
]]>JOHANNESBURG August 25, 2020 (AP News) — Winter is ending in the Southern Hemisphere and country after country — South Africa, Australia, Argentina — had a surprise: Their steps against COVID-19 also apparently blocked the flu.
But there’s no guarantee the Northern Hemisphere will avoid twin epidemics as its own flu season looms while the coronavirus still rages.
“This could be one of the worst seasons we’ve had from a public health perspective with COVID and flu coming together. But it also could be one of the best flu seasons we’ve had,” Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told The Associated Press.
U.S. health officials are pushing Americans to get vaccinated against the flu in record numbers this fall, so hospitals aren’t overwhelmed with a dueling “twindemic.”
It’s also becoming clear that wearing masks, avoiding crowds and keeping your distance are protections that are “not specific for COVID. They’re going to work for any respiratory virus,” Redfield said.
The evidence: Ordinarily, South Africa sees widespread influenza during the Southern Hemisphere’s winter months of May through August. This year, testing tracked by the country’s National Institute of Communicable Diseases is finding almost none — something unprecedented.
School closures, limited public gatherings and calls to wear masks and wash hands have “knocked down the flu,” said Dr. Cheryl Cohen, head of the institute’s respiratory program.
That not only meant lives saved from flu’s annual toll, but it “freed up our hospitals’ capacity to treat COVID-19 patients,” Cohen added.
In Australia, the national health department reported just 36 laboratory-confirmed flu-associated deaths from January to mid-August, compared to more than 480 during the same period last year.
“The most likely and the biggest contributor is social distancing,” said Dr. Robert Booy, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Sydney.
The coronavirus is blamed for about 24 million infections and more than 810,000 deaths globally in just the first eight months of this year. A normal flu year could have the world’s hospitals dealing with several million more severe illnesses on top of the COVID-19 crush.
Back in February and March, as the worldwide spread of the new virus was just being recognized, many countries throughout the Southern Hemisphere girded for a double whammy. Even as they locked down to fight the coronavirus, they made a huge push for more last-minute flu vaccinations.
“We gave many more flu vaccinations, like four times more,” said Jaco Havenga, a pharmacist who works at Mays Chemist, a pharmacy in a Johannesburg suburb.
Some countries’ lockdowns were more effective than others at stemming spread of the coronavirus. So why would flu have dropped even if COVID-19 still was on the rise?
“Clearly the vigilance required to be successful against COVID is really high,” said CDC’s Redfield. “This virus is one of the most infectious viruses that we’ve seen.”
That’s in part because 40% of people with COVID-19 show no symptoms yet can spread infection, he said.
Flu hasn’t disappeared, cautions a World Health Organization report earlier this month. While “globally, influenza activity was reported at lower levels than expected for this time of year,” it found sporadic cases are being reported.
Plus, some people who had the flu in Southern countries might just have hunkered down at home and not seen a doctor as the coronavirus was widespread, WHO added.
But international influenza experts say keeping schools closed — children typically drive flu’s spread — and strict mask and distancing rules clearly helped.
“We don’t have definitive proof, but the logical explanation is what they’re doing to try to control the spread of (the coronavirus) is actually doing a really, really good job against the flu as well,” said Richard Webby of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, who is part of a WHO committee that tracks flu evolution.
In contrast, the U.S. and Europe didn’t impose coronavirus rules nearly as restrictive as some of their Southern neighbors — and in many cases are reopening schools and relaxing distancing rules even as COVID-19 still is spreading and the cooler months that favor influenza’s spread are fast approaching.
So the U.S. CDC is urging record flu vaccinations, preferably by October. Redfield’s goal is for at least 65% of adults to be vaccinated; usually only about half are.
The U.S. expects more than 190 million doses of flu vaccine, about 20 million more than last year. States are being encouraged to try drive-thru flu shots and other creative ideas to get people vaccinated while avoiding crowds.
In an unusual move, Massachusetts has mandated flu vaccination for all students — from elementary to college — this year. Typically only some health care workers face employment mandates for flu vaccine.
In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson likewise is urging widespread flu vaccination.
To be clear, the flu vaccine only protects against influenza — it won’t lessen the chances of getting the coronavirus. Vaccines against COVID-19 still are experimental and several candidates are entering final testing to see if they really work.
But for coronavirus protection, Redfield continues to stress vigilance about wearing masks, keeping your distance, avoiding crowds and washing your hands.
“Once one stops those mitigation steps, it only takes a couple weeks for these viral pathogens to get back on the path that they were on,” he said.
While the U.S. has been mask-resistant, most states now have some type of mask requirement, either through statewide orders issued by governors or from city and county rules.
Meanwhile, countries where flu season is ending are watching to see if the Northern Hemisphere heeds their lessons learned.
“It could be very scary — we honestly don’t know. But if you’re going to get the two infections at the same time, you could be in big trouble,” said Booy, the Sydney infectious diseases expert.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Neergaard reported from Alexandria, Virginia. Associated Press reporter Victoria Milko in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.
]]>JOHANNESBURG August 10, 2020 (AP News) — When her regular clinic ran out of her government-funded HIV medications amid South Africa’s COVID-19 lockdown, Sibongile Zulu panicked. A local pharmacy had the drugs for $48, but she didn’t have the money after being laid off from her office job in the shutdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Desperate for the lifesaving medication, the single mother of four called a friend — a nurse with a local charity helping people with HIV, the Sister Mura Foundation. She’s one of the lucky ones: Since April, the foundation has provided Zulu with the drugs, purchased locally.
Across South Africa and around the world, the pandemic has disrupted the supply of antiretroviral drugs, endangering the lives of many of the more than 24 million people globally who take the medications that suppress the HIV virus.
In sub-Saharan Africa alone, a study by UNAIDS found that a six-month disruption of antiretroviral therapy could lead to 500,000 additional AIDS-related deaths.
The disruptions are particularly troubling in South Africa, which has 7.7 million HIV-positive people, the world’s largest number, with 62% of those depending on the government’s antiretroviral program, also the world’s largest. Anti-coronavirus restrictions have hindered both imports of the drugs and the local production and distribution of the medications, according to a report by UNAIDS.
In addition, many HIV patients have stopped going to the often-crowded clinics for fear of being exposed to the coronavirus. And others cannot afford the transport fares to reach clinics.
In June, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said countries should “urgently make plans now to mitigate the impacts of higher costs and reduced availability of antiretroviral medicines.”
“I call on countries and buyers of HIV medicines to act swiftly in order to ensure that everyone who is currently on treatment continues to be on it, saving lives and stopping new HIV infections,” Byanyima said.
HIV positive people who contract COVID-19, are more than twice as likely to die from the disease as people without HIV, according to an early study of mortality rates in South Africa’s Western Cape province, the country’s first epicenter for the disease.
“We’re worried that we’re going to be seeing an increase in deaths in co-infections such as TB and other opportunistic infections,” Dr. Nomathemba Chandiwana, an HIV research clinician, told The Associated Press.
Clinics in central Johannesburg have seen a 10% to 25% drop in people coming for HIV treatment, she said. On top of that, several clinics have had to close temporarily when nurses and doctors have become sick with COVID-19.
“Some clinics see 60 to 80 patients per day, so when one closes, for even a week, it means many people are not getting their drugs. It’s a serious threat,” said Chandiwana, who works for Ezintsha, part of the University of the Witwatersrand.
COVID-19 is similarly disrupting vaccinations. The past few months have seen a 25% reduction in childhood immunizations, according to Shabir Madhi, a professor of vaccinology at the same university, who warned of possible outbreaks of measles.
The diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis also has also been hampered by the pandemic, risking the lives of many of South Africa’s neediest citizens, health experts say.
“Disruptions to these medications is a public health problem. It threatens the poor and most vulnerable,” said Vinyarak Bhardwaj, deputy director of Doctors Without Borders’ program in South Africa, which has HIV programs in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.
“We’re responding to this threat by helping to minimize shortages and by providing stable HIV patients with multi-month prescriptions to limit their visits to the clinics. We’re also increasing treatment advice by telephone and the internet,” he said.
Reliable supplies of antiretroviral drugs are so critically important in South Africa that a monitoring program, Stop Stockouts, was created in 2013 and is closely tracking and responding to the disruptions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The mill town of Ngodwana in the country’s northeast, a truck stop on the highway to Mozambique, is a microcosm of South Africa’s inequality, rated as the world’s highest.
Ngodwana’s 3,500 residents are mostly Black, living in a densely packed shantytown, with limited electricity and running water. Safe distancing is nearly impossible. Years ago, the truck traffic was blamed for bringing HIV to the area; now come fears it will become a hot spot for COVID-19.
Many in Ngodwana can no longer afford to travel the 40 kilometers (25 miles) to the town of Nelspruit to get their drugs and don’t feel comfortable going to the crowded local clinic. So the Dutch-based aid group North Star Alliance set up a tented drop-in center and started home visits.
Clad in a mask, gloves and protective surgical gown, nurse Nomautanda Siduna walked through Ngodwana’s dirt streets to a mud-walled, tin-roofed home. Once inside, she quickly got to work, distributing a two-month supply of antiretroviral drugs to the HIV-positive woman, a sex-worker, and advising her how to stay as safe as possible amid the pandemic.
“You must know that with COVID out there, you must take your treatment, every day, same time, like you’re always doing,” Siduna told her. “And you must use a condom when you’re sleeping with anyone.”
Pretty Mkhabela, 34, said the pandemic frightens her and that she’s taking new precautions as a sex worker.
“Yes, I’m scared,” Mkhabela said. “When I work with my client, I use a mask and my client also uses a mask.”
Another resident, Rose Khondowa, tried to get her antiretroviral drugs by traveling to Nelspruit, but encountered only a locked gate after a COVID-19 outbreak among hospital workers caused the clinic to temporarily close. She didn’t have enough money, about $4, for a second trip.
By chance, she saw the North Star Alliance gazebo in Ngodwana and succeeded in getting a month’s supply of antiretroviral drugs.
“If I didn’t find them,” she said, “I would have died.”
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