The Mahaut Bus Association has reported on its meeting with Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, in efforts to address the concerns of many bus drivers, about the Skerrit Administration’s offer of loans to bus owners as its response to the Covid-19 financial crisis. President of the Mahaut Bus Drivers Association Bernard Coipel, says the meeting was conducted via zoom on Monday, and he deems it o have been successful. President of the Mahaut Bus Association, Bernard Coipel
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There is sufficient state money under Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit’s control that can be used to cover the Covid-19 financial gap of the ordinary people of Dominica. UWP Leader Lennox Linton gave a brief analysis of how the monies could be used in a sensible manner, ti help people through this difficult period. He says it will not happen successfully if the Prime Minister refuses to release the people’s money, and at this point it isn’t a Lennox Linton problem, but rather one that affects every Dominican. He says it is rather difficult to understand how we as a people, allow the Prime Minister to have so much control over what is theirs, and refuses to give it to them when it is needed now more than ever. With the ever concerning issue of financial compensation for the impact of Covid-19 emergency legislation and curfew, Linton says this lack of compensation small businesses and ordinary people, cannot be right by the stretch of anyone’s imagination, and especially during this crisis. Leader of the United Workers Party, Lennox Linton
The Government of Dominica is obligated to compensate people, for loss of income during emergencies imposed by law and not pretend to be granting them favors, says Former Education Officer, Arundel Thomas. Mr Thomas was speaking on the Hotseat Program on Q95 on Wednesday about the growing issue of compensation to bus owners and drivers. His statements came in response to bus drivers who claimed they had meet with Prime Minister to deal with the issue of bus drivers receiving a fair share of Covid-19 economic relief. He advised these bus owners and drivers to have an attorney at hand and represent themselves and their interests within legal frameworks, because essentially their rights and entitlements are being violated. Former Education Officer, Arundel Thomas
General Manager of the Dominica Water and Sewage Company ltd. DOWASCO Bernard Ettinoffe says its COVID-19 plan was executed successfully. Ettinoffe says despite the challenges faced, DOWASCO’s employees stood up to the task and got the job done. He was speaking on a local radio program with respect to disaster preparedness week. Meantime, Ettinoffe says the dry season has also posed challenges to Dowasco, such as the reduction of flows in many of the rivers and streams where water is sourced. General Manager of DOWASCO Bernard Ettinoffe
The House of Nyabinghi in Dominica celebrated African liberation day on 25th May 2020, with a difference. Speaking to the media recently Ras Sewatu said social media was used to spread the awareness of the greatness in our African culture. House of Nyabinghi member, Ras Sewatu
General Manager of Dominica Solid Waste Management Cooperation (DSWMC) Florian Mitchel urged the public to refrain from illegal dumping. He stated bulky waste collections such as zinc and white goods, should be hauled to the land field directly by the owner or the generator of the material. Mitchel says the Ministry of Environment is looking at a broader plan in terms of a more sustainable clean-up campaign to be implemented in June. Two items in the plan would be the removal of derelict vehicles island wide and communal removal of white goods in the home level. General Manager of DSWMC, Florian Mitchel
General Manager of DOMLEC, Ms Bertilia McKenzie, says the company is now out of the essential mode, after successfully implementing its covid-199 preparedness plan in late January. Most of the company’s services restarted on Monday. As regards the impact of the dry season or ‘Careme’ on the company, McKenzie says Dowasco has installed wraps around its polls to help alleviate the impact of bushfires. DOMLEC General Manager, Ms Bertilia McKenzie
Manager of the Dominica Emergency Agricultural Livelihoods and Climate Resilience Project, and Dominican representative for the World Bank Kervin Stephenson, reveals that there is a strong possibility that five (5) distribution programs will be launched during next week. Mr. Stephenson speaking on the ‘Talk on the Block’ program on Q95 recently, said there will be a category distinction that is also geared at helping farmers who were not previously eligible and to allow them to take advantage of the program. He says the main objective is to restore the acreage lost during Maria, but with the current zeitgeist being affected by Covid19, there will be adjustments made in an effort to regain the market share we once had. Manager of the Dominica Emergency Agricultural Livelihoods and Climate Resilience Project, and Dominican representative for the World Bank, Kervin Stephenson
PAHO Director Dr Carissa F Etienne says response to COVID19 in the Americas Region must include chronic disease care, as 1 in 4 people are at high risk of poor outcomes from COVID19 due to underlying non-communicable diseases (NCDs).Noting that more than 2.4 million cases and over 143,000 deaths have made the Americas the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Etienne said during a media briefing today, “as cases continue to rise in our region, our efforts to protect those with underlying conditions must intensify.”
In South America, “we are particularly concerned that the number of new cases reported last week in Brazil was the highest for a seven-day period, since the outbreak began. Both Peru and Chile are also reporting a high incidence,” she said. For most countries in the Americas, “now is not the time to relax restrictions or scale back preventive strategies. Now is the time to stay strong, remain vigilant and aggressively implement proven public health measures,” Dr. Etienne said. “We have never seen such a deadly relationship between an infectious disease and Non-Communicable Diseases. Some of the data are truly alarming. Especially for our region, where NCDs are pervasive,” she said. “We need aggressive preventive measures to protect people with diabetes, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases from the new coronavirus.”Persons with diabetes are twice as likely to have severe disease or die, and 28 percent of cancer patients who contracted COVID-19 died, compared with 2 percent of overall patients, she said, citing recent studies. Smoking also increases the chance of severe disease from COVID-19. Stay at home measures, disruptions in provision of health care services, as well as the fear of attending care facilities have resulted in reduced elective clinic visits and lower access to renal dialysis, cancer care, and delays in high priority treatments for patients with NCDs, Dr. Etienne said. Many health workers who normally provide care for people with chronic disease “have been redirected to the COVID-19 response, adversely impacting the timely diagnosis and treatment of NCDs,” PAHO’s Director added. Lower access to care from disruptions in health care services “puts patients at higher risk of complications and death from diseases which we know how to treat,” and health systems must find ways to respond “or we will be faced with a parallel epidemic of preventable deaths of persons with NCDs,” Dr. Etienne said. Prior to COVID-19, 81 percent of all deaths in the Region of the Americas were due to NCDs and 39 percent of these deaths were premature, occurring before 70 years of age. PAHO’s Director said it was important to find safe methods of delivering essential clinical care for people with NCDs during the pandemic. “For example, many countries are quickly scaling up telemedicine, prioritizing scheduled appointments to avoid crowded waiting rooms and providing services in novel ways.” Dr. Etienne said countries should ensure that supply chains for essential NCD medicines are protected and continue to function efficiently and that these products are distributed to the people who need them. “We also must ensure timely access to care for chronic diseases to prevent them from becoming life-threatening. PAHO is working with countries in the region and providing guidance to help plan and implement these measures. As cases continue to rise in our region, our efforts to protect those with underlying conditions must intensify,” she emphasized. Worrell St Jean, Public Relations Officer for the Mahaut Bus Drivers Association says a consensus was reached between his executive and Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, for the Association to create an assistance proposal to present to the Prime Minister, on the plight of Bus Drivers islandwide. This, as the facts confirm that bus drivers like others, have been significantly affected by the advent of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Worrell St. Jean, Public Relations Officer for Mahaut Bus Drivers.
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