Daily Archive: Sunday, April 19, 2020

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has moved from 63 to 65 overnight, the Ministry of Public Health said today.

 (Reuters) – Governors in U.S. states hardest hit by the novel coronavirus sparred with President Donald Trump over his claims they have enough tests and should quickly reopen their economies as more protests are planned over the extension of stay-at-home orders.

GECOM has been told by de facto Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo that its recount of the votes for March 2nd general elections must not extend into the curfew period and that any persons coming into the country for the process would have to be quarantined for two weeks at a government institution.

RIYADH,  (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body, the Council of Senior Scholars, urged Muslims worldwide to pray at home during Ramadan if their countries require social distancing to curb the spread of the coronavirus, state news agency SPA reported on Sunday.

MOSCOW, (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin said that Russian authorities had the coronavirus crisis under full control and that everything would work out with God’s help, even as the country today  registered a record daily rise in cases of the new virus.

(Trinidad Guardian) “Stay home or I will make your life very uncomfortable.”

Minister of Finance Winston Jordan has indicated that it will cost taxpayers over $1 billion to transform the Ocean View Hotel and Conference Centre into a specialised care facility for novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients.

The opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has voiced its concern to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairperson, retired justice Claudette Singh, over her decision to approaching the National COVID-19 Task Force via Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo with a “request” for advice on working hours during the proposed national recount of ballots cast at the March 2 polls.

Guyana has recorded its seventh novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) death. A release from the Department of Public Information last night quoted Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence as confirming the death of the unidentified patient.

One hundred and fifty Canadian Citizens were repatriated yesterday when a Canadian Airline made its first direct flight to Guyana as part of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic relief efforts.

With their limited medical resources, Guyana’s Indigenous communities are at risk of potential devastating consequences if the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) makes its way into any one of them, Amerindian People’s Association (APA) member Michael McGarrell has warned.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad,  CMC – Football’s world governing body, FIFA, has reiterated to ousted Trinidad and Tobago FA officials that its normalisation committee remains the sole authority for football governance here.

Guyana is not running out of kits to test for the novel coronavirus disease, according to Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) resident representative Dr William Adu-Krow, who says some 7.000 more are expected.

Compiled by Al Creighton, Vanda Radzik, Marina Taitt and Jocelyn Dow Michael Gilkes (1933 – 2020) was a prominent Caribbean academic, literary critic, playwright, director, poet and filmmaker.

Guyanese International Boxing Official Eion Jardine is mourning the passing of an acclaimed boxing colleague, Eddie Cotton, a former world champion boxing referee.

Dear Editor,  That the total recount of all the ballots as proposed by Mr Granger is a ploy to delay or to prevent the true results of the March 2nd elections from becoming known is clear to anyone with a modicum of intelligence.

Local charter airline Air Services Ltd (ASL) yesterday denied increasing its prices for flights to hinterland regions, while Finance Minister Winston Jordan said the government would be prepared to examine proposals to cap the fares being charged by public transport operators.

(BBC) At this very strange time when sport is at a standstill, players are eagerly waiting for the green light to get started again.

Authorities in neighbouring Brazil arrested four persons last Wednesday afternoon after they allegedly attempted to smuggle a quantity of infrared thermometers into the country through an illegal crossing from Guyana.

Dear Editor, I refer to a statement issued by the Guyana Bar Council published in the Friday, April 17, 2020, edition of the Stabroek News  under the caption, `Bar Council calls for GECOM to expedite process for accurate, transparent poll results -says failure after six weeks `disgraceful, inexcusable.’’ 

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on Thursday celebrated its 15th Anniversary and its President, Justice Adrian Saunders, said that as a court of last resort for contracting Caribbean Community (CARICOM) states, it court represents a new and different approach to regionalism.

Dear Editor, I write as an addendum to my letter of 17th April, 2020 in the Stabroek News, in which I referred to the payment to an American PR Company, JJ&B LLC, using taxpayers’ money to present in Washington DC “a tissue of lies” to excuse the attempt to steal the General Elections result by officials of GECOM.

Baldeo Singh and Anish Bhagwandeen are soldiers and they are actively involved in fighting a war for Guyana.

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – Demonstrations to demand an end to stay-at-home measures that have pummelled the U.S.

This was revealed by national coordinator Junior Hercules, who spoke to Stabroek Sport during an exclusive interview.

The Bishops’ High School Law Society (BHSLS) has commenced weekly live sessions aimed at engaging youth in a positive light amidst the anxieties brought on by COVID-19.

Discarded Guyana batsman Robin Bacchus is on a mission to make a return to national colours.

When Nurse Shelly Hinds now enters a minibus in her uniform, other commuters immediately shift to the other side of the seat.

Dear Editor, I wish to express my deepest concern regarding the recent disclosure by the Ministry of Finance that the refurbishment or rehabilitation of the Ocean View Hotel will cost taxpayers in excess of $1 billion.

(BBC) England leg-spinner Adil Rashid says he would consider a return to red-ball cricket at the end of the summer.

LONDON, CMC – A top Caribbean Premier League official hopes Indian Premier League organisers can sensibly determine the best window to stage the lucrative Twenty20 showpiece, following the announcement this week it had been suspended indefinitely.

Dear Editor, Here we go again. The proverbial ink has not dried on GECOM Chair Justice Claudette Singh’s pronouncement on Friday that not more than 10 workstations will be used in the National Recount exercise and forces in the Opposition are once again crying foul.

A 24-year-old excavator operator is currently hospitalised at a city hospital after he was allegedly shot and injured by his employer on Friday morning following a misunderstanding.

Zen, which refers to a state of calm or peace, is what the Chief Executive Officer of Zen Events Surida Nagreadi was looking to give her customers when she created her company.

Armed bandits attacked two farmers and their wives in neighbouring villages on the Corentyne during the wee hours of Friday morning.  

Hey Guys! Ms Bikini Guyana here to shed some light on your day.

JAKARTA, (Reuters) – Indonesia’s death toll from the new coronavirus has likely reached 1,000, nearly double the official figure of 535, Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) chairman Daeng Faqih was quoted saying yesterday.

Dear Editor,  Mr Granger took office with a lot of promise.

SYDNEY, (Reuters) – Cricket Australia Chief Executive Kevin Roberts has told staff that the governing body faces a financial crisis and would not have been able to pay its bills at the end of August without layoffs, local media reported yesterday.

As entrepreneurs seek to adapt to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, the youth in business are no different.

An accident on the Essequibo Coast on Friday afternoon has left a motorcyclist hospitalised in a serious condition.

Dear Editor, I refer to Mr Kowlasar Misir’s letter published in the Stabroek News of April 15, 2020 under the caption, `It was Mr Lowenfield, Mr Mingo and others from Gecom who birthed us this mess.’

Death comes to us all. It is mostly unexpected but a variety of factors, such as the way we choose to live our lives and the choices we make, could give us an idea of how long we will be around.

After the recent Birthday rah rah that engulfed me and led to my column last week, I am taking that opening to spend some time this week with some looking back down memory lane at the musical journey for me that started all those years ago beginning with my very early years living at Vreed-en-Hoop, which I’ve written about before.

(Reuters) – Reverend Manuel Dorantes closed his eyes, took a breath to calm his fear and prayed when word came that Cardinal Blase Joseph Cupich had put out a call for volunteers.

Seven-time All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge spent his first nine seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, and he is open to finishing his career with the club.

Dear Editor, The APNU+AFC Government of Guyana Dossier disseminated by Joe Harmon in the “Capitals” of the world in a foolhardy attempt to defend the intransigence of the Granger administration following the brazen/bizarre attempt at electoral fraud makes for interesting reading.

Last week we began an analysis of the state of theatre in Guyana, with particular reference to how it relates to theatre elsewhere in the Caribbean.

The Guyana Power and Light Inc. on Friday announced that it has taken the decision to suspend mail delivery for the month due to the difficult logistics of meeting the dates identified by the national post office. 

Interest in “Ian on Sunday” of April 12, (“Everything is interesting,”) attracted not only my attention but that of SN’s editorial writer last Friday, days after I had completed this effort.

Dear Editor,  The recent impasse over the crucial election results in our country must make us all realise that the majority of Guyanese are either living without the moral principles that are vital to guiding us into making proper decisions both on personal and communal levels, or ignoring these when we need them most while using other criteria to make decisions in a selfish manner. 

(Trinidad Guardian) Public health officials should expand COVID-19 testing to target asymptomatic patients to gather adequate data to determine if the country has any community spread of the coronavirus, two members of a regional COVID-19 task force have said.

Following the testing of 22 more persons suspected of having the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Guyana has recorded no new positive cases.

LONDON (Reuters) – The World Health Organization (WHO) is in the spotlight as it champions the global fight against the new coronavirus but faces a funding freeze from U.S.

Can one come of age in their thirties? In many ways, “Endings, Beginnings”, the new feature from director Drake Doremus, is best considered as a kind of delayed coming-of-age story of a woman coming to terms with her life.

I suppose it is getting older that brings this on but I have come to the conclusion in a long life that the high dramas of public events – the summits of great men who think they control events, the ribbon-cutting celebrations of immense enterprises, the coronations of Presidents and the inauguration of Parliaments, the inflated pageants of festivals and carnivals and celebrity occasions – fade into inconsequence compared with the quiet satisfactions of private life.

The second Guyana Trade and Investment Exhibition (GuyTIE), which was to be held next month, has been postponed until further notice.

(Reuters) – It is premature to think the novel coronavirus outbreak will further delay the Tokyo Olympics, which have already been postponed a year, Brian McCloskey, an expert on global health security and outbreak prevention told Reuters.

MUMBAI, (Reuters) – India plans to launch a domestic tennis circuit from July to support its players who are struggling financially during the sport’s shutdown due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, the country’s tennis body (AITA) said yesterday.

(Trinidad Guardian) A food crisis is coming in T&T unless the government begins food security planning, says agriculture economist Omardath Maharaj.

Dear Editor, Segments of the international community, once looked upon as rescuers, have lost some credibility. 

“Curiouser and curiouser,” said Alice, as she watched her feet eventually appear so far off they were almost out of sight. 

Historical records show that the last time a pandemic stampeded around the world was in 1918.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Leonardo DiCaprio is offering a walk-on role in his next movie, Justin Bieber says he will serenade the winner in their hometown, and Ellen DeGeneres is offering one lucky American the chance to co-host an episode of “The Ellen Show.”

(Reuters) – Hillary Clinton, Jimmy Fallon, John Legend and Eli Manning are among more than two dozen personalities who will offer words of wisdom via podcast to high school and college graduates sheltering at home due to the coronavirus outbreak, organizers said on Tuesday.

Two persons, including the driver of a minibus, were taken into custody yesterday morning after the police found a quantity of cocaine and cannabis in the vehicle during a stop and search exercise at Mabura, Upper Demerara River.

Introduction My last column addressed the impact of the incipient 2020 global inflation and its accompanying economic recession on the one hand, and, on the other, the COVID-19 pandemic, on the global demand and supply for crude oil.