Daily Archive: Saturday, March 28, 2020

Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence today announced three more confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

MADRID,  (Reuters) – Spain’s coronavirus fatalities rose by a record 832 people overnight to 5,690 as hospitals and morgues were overwhelmed and a police chief fought back tears announcing a colleague’s death.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – The United Kingdom will have done well if it comes through the coronavirus crisis with fewer than 20,000 deaths, Stephen Powis, the national medical director of the National Health Service, said today.

(Jamaica Observer) Several Jamaican teachers in the South Carolina county of Kershaw, which is the epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak in that state, are hunkering down for a long haul with schools declared closed for at least two months as authorities there try to contain the spread.

(Jamaica Star) Prime Minister Andrew Holness has just announced that Jamaica now has an additional four COVID-19 cases.

(Jamaica Gleaner) At least one Jamaican living in South Korea has reported that xenophobia in the South East Asian nation has increased tremendously since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, leaving her and other Jamaicans feeling ostracised.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Paul Adolphous Brown, a director of Brown’s Funeral Home in Kingston, has been charged in connection with the recent discovery of hundreds of hospital gloves and masks at the establishment located next door to the Kingston Public Hospital.

(Trinidad Guardian) The public will still be able to go to the shop, grocery and drug store from Monday.

(Trinidad Express) CHANDRABHAN RAMROOP would do anything for his cousin, Seeta Bhagwandeen.

Reeaz Holladar, the applicant in the PPP-led court case challenging the vote count for Region Four died this morning by apparent suicide.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Former West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo has likened allrounder Andre Russell to Brian Lara and Chris Gayle, and described him as the best player in T20 cricket.

Guyana’s bid to qualify for the 2021 edition of the Pan Cup in Trinidad and Tobago has been severely affected by the new global pandemic Coronavirus. 

Young Jamaican sprinter Briana Williams will have to wait another year to make her Olympic debut, but according to her coach Ato Boldon, he sees opportunity in the midst of the current climate.

Queen’s Park Cricket Club (QPCC) coach Imran Jan says that there is still a lot that a cricketer can do to improve his game during this COVID-19 lockdown.

The Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) retired Justice Claudette Singh has submitted to Justice Franklyn Holder an affidavit contending that GECOM is fully empowered under the Constitution of Guyana to order a recount of votes at the March 2 general elections if necessary.

With no live sport currently available, the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has partnered with cloud video production platform Grabyo to create a unique and innovative content experience for cricket fans to enjoy.

Guyana’s male badminton champion Narayan Ramdhani, for the second year running, has won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award at King’s University in Edmonton, Canada.

A 37-year-old woman was last night chopped to death at the Bartica Airstrip.

If the NBA regular season resumes, it is almost “100 percent” the games will be played without fans present, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported yesterday.

The United Nations (UN) System in Guyana yesterday called on the government to urgently introduce more stringent measures to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), including barring non-essential movement outside the home.

ESPN broadcaster Doris Burke tested positive for COVID-19, but she said she is now symptom-free.

Ruling that it was not the correct forum at which to entertain such an application, Justice Franklyn Holder yesterday rejected the request made by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo to have the statements of poll (SOPs) for Region Four disclosed to the court, stating that the proper forum would be an elections petition.

(Reuters) – World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) chief Witold Banka had a message yesterday for any athlete thinking they could take advantage of the gap in drug-testing created by the coronavirus outbreak — “we will catch you” and “eliminate you”.

More than 1,000 additional coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing kits and 14 ventilators have been donated to Guyana by the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO).

For days, Guyana’s coronavirus counter has been frozen at five. It would mean that this country is a lonely outlier in the infection growth patterns seen in dozens of other countries.

Dear Editor, March 25, 2020 will go down in history as the day that Guyana beat COVID-19.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Businessman Robert Hadad has been named to chair the Normalization Committee appointed by football’s world governing body, FIFA to run the affairs of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TFFA).

Nurses attached to the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH) refused to enter the hospital’s compound yesterday to show their displeasure at the lack of protective equipment and disinfectants at the medical institution.

MUMBAI, (Reuters) – Batting great Sachin Tendulkar has contributed 5 million rupees ($67,000) to India’s fight against the coronavirus outbreak, a source close to the former cricketer has confirmed.

Dear Editor, We wish to humbly suggest to all Non-Essential Businesses to close for an initial period of 14 days being the COVID-19 incubation period, so as to fight the spread of this new and deadly virus.

A senior Canadian government official yesterday warned that a fraudulently elected government here will not be recognised.

An Eastern Airlines relief flight from Georgetown to Miami is expected leave today at 4:30pm.

MUMBAI, (Reuters) – Veteran Indian tennis player Leander Paes is contemplating extending his career by another year to bid for an eighth Olympic appearance following the postponement of the Tokyo Games to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Dear Editor, Please be informed that Monday March 30th, 2020 is designated Life Certificate signing day at the National Insurance Scheme.

Twelve years since she first began dancing, 21-year-old Vanita Harnauth has perfected Indian/Bollywood dance routines and performed at many events and competitions with the Kimberly and Shellita Dance Troupe, a group that honed her talent, which she directs today.

Bandits yesterday morning broke into the home of the Good Hope, East Coast Demerara (ECD) family who are currently in isolation after they tested positive for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

NEW YORK,  (Reuters) – Doctors and nurses on the front lines of the U.S.

RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO,  (Reuters) – Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro yesterday cast doubt on Sao Paulo’s death toll from the coronavirus outbreak and accused the state governor of manipulating the numbers for political ends, without giving evidence for his claims.

Following the announcement that Region Ten officials will be imposing a curfew in an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Linden residents under the impression that it was a lockdown began panic buying yesterday.

Dear Editor, I am an overseas Guyanese who until now has shown very little interest in local politics.

Get a glass, a nice wide glass or a tall glass.

(Reuters) – World Athletics is working to restart a shuttered athletics season and studying any changes that may be needed in the qualifying process for the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics, president Seb Coe said yesterday.

PORT-AU-PRINCE,  (Reuters) – The director of one of Haiti’s top hospitals was kidnapped yesterday, prompting staff to refuse to take in new patients in protest as the impoverished country battles an outbreak of the novel coronavirus amid a spike in gang violence.

(Jamaica Observer) The  Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) has announced an eight-point pre-emptive monetary strategy to assure financial institutions and the public that there will be adequate access to both Jamaican dollar and foreign currency liquidity in wake of the escalating COVID-19 pandemic.

Dear Editor, Guyana is about to enter a long dark tunnel called the Corona Virus pandemic.

BELGRADE,  (Reuters) – Tennis world number one Novak Djokovic pledged one million euros ($1.10 million) to help buy ventilators and other medical equipment in his native Serbia yesterday, joining a list of other athletes in the fight against coronavirus.

As most of us start to come to terms with the idea of our temporary new normal and practice social distancing, slowly but surely our tastes and what we now want to prioritize are changing.

With the closure of schools and some businesses as well as the cancellation of a number of events countrywide so as to better practice social distancing to prevent the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus, it is now a concern about whether those venturing outside of their homes are adhering to social distancing instructions as well.

CARACAS/BOGOTA,  (Reuters) – U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency agents were flying back from Colombia yesterday with retired Venezuelan general Cliver Alcala in their custody, three people familiar with the matter said, after he agreed to work with prosecutors who charged him, President Nicolas Maduro and other top officials with drug trafficking.

(Trinidad Express) An elderly man who was among the cruise ship passengers quarantined at Camp Balandra and then transferred to the Couva Hospital after falling ill, has died from complications as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Dear Editor, A worrying situation grips the nation with Guyana’s first recorded case of COVID-19.

Carnival 2020 has been called off, the Guyana Carnival Committee said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Private Sector Commission (PSC) yesterday expressed disappointment at the response by Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), retired Justice Claudette Singh, to its request for the release of copies of all the Statements of Poll (SoP) for every district.

(Reuters) – Seamer James Anderson says he is still hungry to play for England and has no intention of letting the coronavirus outbreak bring an end to his international career.

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

Earlier this week several prominent American conservatives said that the health of the  economy mattered more to them than the health of the elderly.

A father of two accused of armed robbery, was yesterday remanded to prison at a Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

‘Strut Le Labybrinthe’, the fashion show that was set for next Saturday, April 4, has been postponed indefinitely, Traits Management said as a result of Covid-19.

Dear Editor, I would like to use this space to put my participation at the thirteenth research conference of the Guyana Institute of Historical Research on hold for reasons stated hereunder.

Many are calling for a lockdown in Guyana due to COVID-19.

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Australia’s soccer federation laid off most of its staff yesterday as domestic sports battled to stay afloat during the national lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus.