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The Chase Files Daily Newscap 22/4/2020

Good Morning #realdreamchasers! Here is your daily news cap for Wednesday 22nd April, 2020. There is a lot to read and digest so take your time. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS), Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing a Midweek Nation Newspaper (MWN).

ABRAHAMS: PEOPLE NOT PAYING THEIR WATER BILLS – The COVID-19 pandemic is causing revenue at the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) to leak by as much as 25 per cent, primarily because more people are not paying their bills. This was revealed yesterday by Minister Water Resources Wilfred Abrahams, who was a guest on Starcom Network’s Down To Brass Tacks programme along with BWA general manager Keithroy Halliday. “Our financial position, as tenuous as it was, has become worse. The reality is that a lot of people are not paying their water bills at this point in time. The take for the Barbados Water Authority on the bill has dropped to, I think, about 25 per cent of what it is supposed to be,” the minister said. Abrahams said they had operated in good faith and assured people their service would not be disconnected amidst the coronavirus crisis, but he wanted Barbadians to use their conscience. (MWN)

PAY YOUR WATER BILL – As Barbados faces its worst drought in decades, Minister of Water Resources Wilfred Abraham revealed the state-owned water authority was battling its own lack of flowing funds. He warned that revenue at the Barbados Water Authority was fast drying up as Barbadians failed to pay their bills. Speaking on Voice of Barbados’ Down to Brass Tacks, Abrahams, addressing complaints about persistent water outages in rural parishes caught in the grip of an ongoing drought, said the state-owned utility has taken a double-digit knock to its already weak finances in recent weeks. “Our financial position as tenuous as it was has become worse,” he said. “The reality is that a lot of people are not paying their water bills at this time. So the take for the Barbados Water Authority on the bills has dropped to I think 25 per cent of what it is supposed to be.” He argued that just as the BWA determined not to disconnect people during the COVID crisis, consumers should not put their bill payments on the back burner. Abrahams told the programme: “I am just going to ask people to use their conscience a little bit. The fact that we are not going to disconnect you for health reasons does not absolve you from paying your water bill because at the end of the day you are not just going to continue racking up arrears against you but in the interim, you are starving the water authority, or the water authority is being starved of money it needs to do basic things to make the system work properly.” He warned that the problem went further than BWA, saying the Government was stretched because no money was “coming into the Government’s coffers”. He declared: “Land tax is not being paid, VAT [Value Added Tax] is not being paid, business has ground to halt in Barbados, so people are not able to pay their statutory obligations in Barbados. So the Ministry of Finance is catching itself to even find money to run the country so it just not a good situation for us to be in.” The Minister responsible for the BWA noted that the authority was almost at the point of getting to the bottom of what he termed “dangerous debt” levels discovered in 2018 but has now suffered a setback and as a result, a number of critical programmes would be on hold. He cited the proposed $14. 8 million Vineyard project that is expected to provide relief to the water-scarce parishes of St John and St Joseph through the redistribution of water from Vineyard, St Philip to the Golden Ridge/Bowmanston system. Abrahams: “We were scheduled to be starting all of these things… when the COVID issues descended upon us. We have the bulk of the pipes for Vineyard project so we had started the process, we have located where we are going to put the reservoir in Stewart Hill, we have specs for everything that needs to be done for it, we were sourcing the financing for it, we were investigating loans, we had people, that we were looking to get the financing from, but the reality now is that with the decreased revenues of the Barbados Water Authority, occasioned by people not paying their water bills we cannot speak to a financier and we cannot prove to them a guaranteed source of income for the next 12 months. Our income now is at its worse for I don’t even know how long.” Abrahams said the BWA would now have to turn back to the Government to find the money to complete the project, noting that Prime Minister Mia Mottley and Minister of Finance Ryan Straughn have been trying to source funding. (BT)

BRA TO OPEN TWO OFFICES –The Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) will reopen the Weymouth Corporate Centre and Warrens Towers II locations in St Michael to facilitate limited transactions from Wednesday, April 22. A press release said this is to further enable payments in relation to PAYE, VAT and income tax during the period of the curfew. The offices will open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will follow the recommended physical distancing protocols. Payments for licensing transactions remain suspended during the curfew period, according to the statement. (BGIS)

MINISTRY READY FOR E-LEARNING - Online teaching has started at all tertiary institutions and most private schools. A statement from the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training (METVT) said this follows consultations last week with substantive Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw and ministry officials, principals of all public and private schools, and unions representing teachers and principals. From April 20 to 24, all public schools will be preparing to roll out online teaching using the Google G Suite for Education platform. The statement said this platform may be accessed from any PC, laptop, tablet or smart mobile device. The ministry emphasised the importance of education during the curfew period and is working with providers and suppliers to ensure every child has Internet access and devices to utilise the new elearning platform. Radio and television will be utilised in the interim to provide educational content to ensure that students are not disadvantaged. Further assistnce can be accessed by calling the ministry’s helpdesk at 535-0798, between 8:15 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Additional information may be found on the ministry’s website www.mes.gov.bb. The ministry advised those schools and teachers who are ready to engage with their students using the Google G Suite Classroom that they may do so, but no new concepts are to be taught. These new measures are being implemented after schools were closed last term to limit spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). (BGIS)

NOT YET IN THE CLEAR – It would be unwise of Government to ease the current restrictions despite Barbados not recording a positive test for coronavirus in the past six days, COVID-19 Czar Richard Carter has declared. He is adamant that as long as there are still live cases of the respiratory illness on the island it means we are still under threat. In an interview with Barbados TODAY, Carter said while the string of negative tests was a positive sign he was still very concerned that 45 people were still infected. Carter said: “I will say, however, that six days without cases, while it is encouraging it does not matter really as much as the fact that we currently still have over 40 live cases in Barbados that we are managing. As long as you have live cases in your country you have an epidemic that is going on.… One case is all it takes to spark a spike. “There can be no immediate contemplation or consideration of lifting restrictions right now. We have to continue to be on our guard and it will be far too early to be talking about the relaxation of the restrictions. One live case means that you have to be considering and dealing and trying to get to zero. Essentially that is our goal, to get to zero cases in Barbados. “We don’t know how many or whether there are other cases that have not been diagnosed within the community. We are trying our best through the contact tracing and through the surveillance that we are undertaking to detect and identify whether there are any cases but we can never be 100 per cent sure outside of testing every single person.” Carter stressed that over 2.5 million diagnosed cases of COVID-19 worldwide started with one case. But he pointed out that public health officials in Barbados would be the ones responsible for advising Government on whether those restrictions ought to be lifted. “So the public health officials will advise the Government when it is appropriate to lift any restrictions that have been put in place. “In all of this we have been following the advice of the public health officials in Barbados and they have advised the Government in relation to when it is necessary to impose restrictions and they will guide the Government as to when it is appropriate to lift them,” the Czar noted. Minister of Health Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic announced yesterday that having acquired 2,800 swabs and 27,000 testing kits, health authorities are moving to ramp up COVID-19 testing. He also warned that Barbados was not yet out in the clear. “I want to reiterate that although this is indeed very encouraging for all of us it is not a sign that we are out of the woods. We must not drop our guard. We must not drop the level of defense that we are putting up against this enemy,” Lt. Col. Bostic said. (BT)

DOC: CAUTIOUS CHANGES TO COME – Barbados is preparing to launch new protocols should the island continue to record no new COVID-19 infections, says Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Kenneth George. However, although there have been no new infections for the sixth straight day, he advised caution. “We are not going to be rash, even with small incremental changes or with things like opening up businesses and allowing construction. We have been told to let the science guide us, so that’s what we’re doing. We have agreed two weeks – the full incubation period for this disease – with no new cases, will be the trigger for something new. “As we get more information and if things trend downwards, we will have a systematic approach, but countries should not rush to reverse a lot of the changes. It is going to be incremental. . ” (MWN)

PAHO GIVES MORE KITS FOR COVID FIGHT - The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) has boosted Barbados’ COVID-19 testing capabilities with a donation of 11,000 testing kits. Accepting the kits and 782 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) packages from PAHO/WHO Representative for Barbados and Eastern Caribbean Dr Yitades Gebre, Minister of Health and Wellness Col Lt Jeffrey Bostic said the donation is timely for use in the country’s island-wide testing programme scheduled to begin soon. Speaking during the handing over ceremony at PAHO’s Dayrells Road, Christ Church headquarters this afternoon, Bostic revealed that health authorities were now in possession of 38 000 testing kits and noted that that number is expected to be increased soon. “We are on top of it in containing it and we need to really expand our testing. This is exactly what we are going to be doing in a day or two. We are going to be expanding the testing and establishing testing centres so that we can get back to as normal a state as early as possible without compromising public health,” Bostic said. Minister of Health and Wellness Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic receives the donation of kits and equipment from PAHO/WHO Representative to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Dr Yitades Gebre during a handover at PAHO Headquarters today. (BGIS) Chief Medical Officer Dr Kenneth George who also attended the ceremony, stated that while recovered COVID-19 patients are being released and there has been no evidence of re-infection, the authorities are monitoring this particular aspect of the pandemic closely since it has been happening in other countries. “It is something that we will continue to monitor. As the Minister said we have been given a mandate from the Prime Minister [Mia Amor Mottley] to scale up our testing. Today is day six without any new cases and the Ministry of Health has always had the approach to be extremely transparent. “And we would like to make sure that there is no in-country transmission and the only way we are going to do that with some confidence is if we scale up our testing. “So what we have told general practitioners in Barbados is that persons even without a travel history presenting with respiratory illness we are willing to test. We have placed special emphasis on frontline workers and particularly the elderly,” Dr George said. Minister Bostic thanked PAHO for its assistance in the COVID-19 fight. He said Barbados has been following PAHO and WHO’s guidelines and protocols to contain the spread of the virus. Meanwhile, Dr Gebre praised Barbados’ handling of the pandemic and noted that many countries could benefit from copying the model. He said PAHO is pleased to continue to provide the country with technical and administrative support to ensure that lives are saved and the negative impact on society is kept at a minimum. Dr Gebre said it was encouraging to note that most countries in the region were managing the pandemic well, with there being no signs of community spread and some nations reporting no COVID-19 related deaths. “No country at this point has shown that they are overwhelmed with the number of cases. All of them are doing extremely well in terms of containing. There is no community transmission in the Caribbean,” Dr Gebre said. When asked whether the United States of America’s (USA) threat to halt its funding to the WHO over the organisation’s handling of COVID-19, Dr Gebre said that the US was committed to helping WHO’s work in developing countries in need of the assistance during the pandemic. “During this pandemic the United States government has provided resources to support other countries. In our region, USAID provided $100 000 for Barbados and then for each of those countries in the range of $60 000 to $70 000 for the next three months. So we have received half a million dollars from the United States government in our region to provide technical support. Continuously that kind of support is needed,” Dr Gebre said. (BT)

PAHO DIRECTOR: INCREASED VIRUS TESTING CRITICAL – The director of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), Dr Carissa F. Etienne, on April 21 called for accelerated and expanded testing for the coronavirus (COVID-19) in countries of the Americas, including the Caribbean. “We need a clearer view of where the virus is circulating and how many people have been infected in order to guide our actions,” said Etienne during a virtual press briefing. “The pandemic continues to impact our region, and it’s vital for all countries to actively embrace preventive measures, while preparing for more cases, hospitalisations and deaths,” she added. As of April 20, there have been 839 119 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 42 686 people have died in the Region of the Americas. The PAHO director said that countries have been prepared to test and detect cases of COVID-19 since before the pandemic was declared. Since February, PAHO said it had trained and equipped laboratories for PCR testing in more than 30 countries. But, as cases have increased, Etienne said countries have found it increasingly difficult to keep up. She highlighted PAHO’s recommendations for countries to expand their capacity and use all available national laboratories; to prioritise patients with symptoms, tracing contacts and following up with those that may be infected; and to ensure access for all so testing would be free of charge for patients. PAHO said it has provided more than 500 000 PCR tests to 34 countries and territories, “and we have worked with other countries to track and support their capacity”, said Etienne. An additional 1.5 million PCR tests are being dispatched throughout the region this week, “followed by another 3 million next week to strengthen laboratory surveillance networks in our member states”, she highlighted. “To address the market shortage, we are working with leading manufacturers to make these tests available through the PAHO Strategic Fund,” Etienne said. “Twelve countries are now using this mechanism to purchase quality commercial PCR-based tests. “As we negotiate other options, we are considering tests that run on both open and on so-called closed platforms, to maximise each country’s ability to test,” she added. To help ensure countries procure reliable products, Etienne said PAHO is providing guidance to regulatory and health authorities, and is calling on manufacturers “to work closely with us so that we can ensure equitable access to new quality tests, as they reach the market so all our countries can benefit from innovations”. Global access to medicines, vaccines, and medical equipment to respond to COVID 19 “should not be a privilege of certain countries or communities”, she said. “Our collective goal must be to ensure that access to the testing, treatment, vaccines and other technologies is available to all based on needs.” (CMC)

UN URGES ACTION TO AVOID “BIBLICAL FAMINE” – The world is at risk of widespread famines "of biblical proportions" caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the United Nations has warned. David Beasley, head of the World Food Programme (WFP), said urgent action was needed to avoid a catastrophe. A report estimates that the number suffering from hunger could go from 135 million to more than 250 million. Those most at risk are in ten countries affected by conflict, economic crisis and climate change, the WFP says. The fourth annual Global Report on Food Crises highlights Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Nigeria and Haiti. In South Sudan, 61 per cent of the population was affected by food crisis last year, the report says. Even before the pandemic hit, parts of East Africa and South Asia were already facing severe food shortages caused by drought and the worst locust infestations for decades. Addressing the UN Security Council during a video conference, Beasley said the world had to "act wisely and act fast". "We could be facing multiple famines of biblical proportions within a short few months," he said. "The truth is we do not have time on our side." In a call to action, he added: "I do believe that with our expertise and our partnerships, we can bring together the teams and the programmes necessary to make certain the Covid-19 pandemic does not become a human and food crisis catastrophe." (BBC)

T&T STUDENTS AT CAVE HILL PLEAD FOR A RESPONSE FROM AUTHORITIES IN PORT OF SPAIN – More than a dozen Trinidad and Tobago nationals who are studying at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus are today expressing concern that their cries for help from authorities in their homeland are falling on deaf ears. Speaking on the behalf of her peers, final year law student Shantal Seecharan told Barbados TODAY that most of them, ranging from ages of 20 to 25, were “barely getting by” because they have already run out of funds and were now rationing food supplies. She said they missed the deadline for flying home before Trinidad and Tobago closed its borders towards the end of March, and repeated efforts to get help from authorities there have been unsuccessful. “The reason why most of us missed the deadline to go back home is because we didn’t have the funds to just purchase a ticket at that point and leave,” she said. “In terms of the supplies that we have they are currently running out. Some organisations and people in Trinidad are trying to help us but for the past week it has been very hard to get supplies to us so we have been trying to make arrangements so we would be able to get some groceries. Everything is limited right now so we all have to ration,” said Seecharan. She explained: “In terms of rent, I know some other students, right now their rents are paid for April, but they don’t know what will happen after April. We suppose the landlords will not kick them out because of the moratorium but we know that is not law.” Teaching will end this week, but the students still have a number of assignments due, and they are preparing for assessments, which are to take place between May 11 and June 12. However, speaking on behalf of the 13 students, Seecharan said faced with “extreme sadness” because they were unable to be with their loved ones at this time, the situation has been compounded by the stresses of preparing for assessments. She said she was not aware that any of the students wanted to withdraw from their studies or drop out, adding that they were doing their best to “power through” and stay positive. “Some students have told me that their mental health has taken a significant hit, that they are extremely demotivated to continue their studies and to finish their assignments on time. Some of them sleep all day and stay up all night or they are not sleeping and not eating,” she said. However, she added: “We are all supporting each other because some of us have bad days. Sometimes we want to give up, but we are there for each other and we are remaining strong. We plan to continue to power through and remain hopeful that our government will answer our call.” While the majority of them are final year law students, others are studying medicine and social sciences. She said the students were overly concerned about their families back home, adding that several of them had family members who were now out of a job. “Some parents are both essential workers. One student is very concerned that something could happen to one of her parents and she has a younger brother who she would need to be there for if that were to happen,” she said. “Then we have situations where both parents are non-essential workers and unfortunately, they have lost their jobs and have no income. We also have people from single-parent households . . . and they are living from pay cheque to pay cheque,” she said. Seecharan explained that most of the students have already received welfare assistance from the university in the past year. The last time they tried to contact officials in their homeland was on Sunday. “We have been sending in our applications for the special exemption to our minister of national security (Stuart Young). But those emails and calls have gone unanswered. However, on Sunday we decided to ban together and put all our information in one document, and we sent it Sunday,” she said. Seecharan said she was pleading with authorities in Trinidad. “Please, answer our calls, please give us a response and tell us you are beginning the process for us. Tell us what plans, what arrangements are being made for us. “So far we are not hearing anything and we just want some level of response, some level of reassurance. Something more than just being told ‘stay put’. We want our cries for help to be heard,” she cried. She told Barbados TODAY that the group has also been in touch with local authorities, seeking help to start the process for them to go back to Trinidad and Tobago. A part of that would include getting tested for the coronavirus in Bridgetown. She said local officials have been responding to their emails and things were looking positive. Seecharan explained that while the group of students was told by the group of 33 seniors that they could be accommodated on their flight that was scheduled to leave Bridgetown on Tuesday for Port of Spain, they were unable to make it because they did not get clearance from Trinidad officials and they have not yet been tested by local medical officials. Seecharan said the lawyers who acted on behalf of the seniors had agreed to help the students in their quest. (BT)

TRINIDADIAN’S FLYING HOME - THE 33 stranded Trinidadians should be back home today, despite a short delay. After a Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) donation of 11 000 testing kits and 782 pieces of personal protection equipment to the Ministry of Health, Minister Jeffrey Bostic spoke about the situation concerning the Trinidadians. The presentation of equipment was made at PAHO's office, Dayrells Road and Navy Gardens, Christ Church. “There are two chartered flights, I believe, which are scheduled to take them back to Trinidad today. We are doing the tests and we will send the results to Trinidad but that is not going to stop them from making the flights this afternoon. They will be tested, they will fly and we will pass the information to the authorities in Trinidad as soon as we have the results,” Bostic said. The Trinidadians were at Grantley Adams International Airport this morning with the first group waiting to board their flight, when they were informed of the delay. Nation News was told that the Trinidad Government had requested medical testing before the group left Barbados. The 33 were taken to Paragon to be tested. The Trinidadians had been quarantined at Sugarcane Club in St Peter and stayed there even after the quarantine period. Bernie Weatherhead, owner of Sugarcane Club, was at the airport to see them off. The Trinidadians had arrived on a flight from England last month after completing a cruise vacation that had started in Dubai. However, they were left here after Trinidad closed its borders as a response to novel coronavirus (COVID-19). (MWN)

TRUMP TO IMPOSE 60 DAY IMMIGRATION BAN – United States President Donald Trump said on Tuesday his new US immigration ban would last 60 days and apply to those seeking “green cards” for permanent residency in an effort to protect Americans seeking to regain jobs lost because of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Trump plans to institute the ban through an executive order, which he said he was likely to sign on April 22. He said it would not apply to individuals entering the United States on a temporary basis and would be re-evaluated once the 60-day period had passed. Trump said that pausing immigration would put “unemployed Americans first in line for jobs” as the country re-opened. “It would be wrong and unjust for Americans laid off by the virus to be replaced with new immigrant labour flown in from abroad. We must first take care of the American worker,” he told reporters at the White House. Trump said there would be some exemptions in the order and he could renew it for another 60 days or longer. The president, a Republican, won the White House in 2016 in part on a promise to crack down on immigration. Critics saw his announcement as a move to take advantage of a crisis to implement a long-sought policy goal. The order could spark legal action. A senior administration official said the administration was looking at a separate action to cover others affected by US immigration policy, including those on so-called H-1B visas. Trump confirmed that a secondary order was under consideration. The first order would include exemptions for people involved in responding to the coronavirus outbreak, including farm workers and those helping to secure US food supplies, the official said. As the country begins to open up its economy, immigration flows were expected to increase, and the administration wanted to ensure that employers hire back fired workers rather than giving jobs to immigrants at lower wages. The US Department of State issued roughly 462 000 immigrant visas in fiscal year 2019, which began on October 1, 2018. The visas allow an immigrant to obtain lawful permanent resident status, informally known as a green card. The status allows a person to live and work in the United States and apply for citizenship after a five-year period. Critics viewed Trump’s new policy as an effort to distract from his response to the pandemic. “I think this is a malevolent distraction,” said Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning policy institute in Washington. Giovanni Peri, an economics professor at the University of California, Davis, said researchers generally agree that immigration into the United States has stimulated economic growth, increased the size of the economy, and created jobs. “The idea that immigration threatens American jobs is just not there in any data,” he said. (Reuters)

GUYANA TO RELAX MEASURES FOR CARICOM TEAM – The National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) says it has agreed to relax the stringent measures for people entering Guyana so as to allow officials of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) team to participate in the recount of ballots in the March 2 regional and general election. In a statement issued here on Monday night, the NCTF said that it had agreed for the CARICOM officials to undergo the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests for coronavirus (COVID-19) instead of being subjected to 14 days of quarantine. The NCTF had earlier decided that people who arrived here during the lockdown period as a result of the country’s efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus would have faced a 14-day quarantine. But the decision came in for criticism from some Commissioners of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and some of the political parties that had contested the disputed elections. But following the intervention of President David Granger, the NCTF said the mandatory quarantine for 14 days will no longer be applicable. Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, who heads the COVID-19 Task Force, has written to the GECOM chairperson, retired justice Claudette Singh and the CARICOM Secretary-General, Irwin LaRocque informing them of the decisions of the NCTF. Nagamootoo had on Sunday indicated that the Task Force had decided that the recount must be conducted within the COVID-19 curfew hours, and that international observers coming to the country must submit themselves to a 14-day quarantine at a government-run institution. But these decisions were reversed on Monday. LaRocque had earlier written to Granger urging that medical examinations for members of the delegation to be done in their countries of origin before their arrival in Guyana. In the statement, NCTF said “the CARICOM officials identified to participate in the recount of ballots be permitted to undergo WHO-approved reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests for COVID-19 in their respective home countries prior to arrival in Guyana, and they will be permitted entry on the basis that such test results are negative”. The Task Force said if any official is unable to have such a test conducted in their home country, that upon their arrival in Guyana, the Ministry of Public Health will facilitate the test here on condition that the official self-quarantines for a maximum of 48 hours while the test results are being ascertained. As such, quarantining of the incoming officials for the mandatory period of 14 days will not be applicable upon compliance with either of the established requirements. “Having been reviewed, and the interest of public health safety being considered, the NCTF accordingly varied the decision taken previously on this issue,” the statement added. (CMC)

INSURER GENERAL ACCIDENTS ENTERS BARBADOS MARKET – A Jamaica-based general insurance company with an operation in Trinidad is set to enter the Barbadian market following regulatory approval here, the firm said. General Accident Insurance Company (Barbados) Limited, a subsidiary of General Accident Insurance Company Jamaica Limited, which hold an 80 per cent stake, has been licensed by the Financial Services Commission to operate as a registered Class 2 insurer. A Barbadian consortium, BCDL Holdings Limited, whose shareholders include current and former executives of Williams Industries and Williams Caribbean Capital, owns the remaining 20 per cent of General Accident Barbados. The company’s Chairman P.B. Scott said: “The decision to enter the Barbados market reflects the long-term confidence we have in the economy and people of Barbados. It is also consistent with our strategy of expanding General Accident’s reach across the English-speaking Caribbean. “With the announcement, General Accident will now be present in Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados. We look forward to combining General Accident’s brand, expertise and financial strength with BCDL’s extensive local relationships in Barbados.” Sharon Donaldson, General Accident’s Managing Director said: “We will be providing more details about our official launch date and reaching out to brokers, policyholders and other stakeholders shortly.”(BT)

MAN SHOT IN PATIO – A St Philip man is in stable condition after being shot on April 21. Police public relations officer Acting Inspector Rodney Inniss said Wayne Harewood, 52, of Duncans, St Philip, was sitting in his patio when four men approached and a number of shots were discharged. He received an injury to the chest and two others to the left side of the head. Harewood was transported to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital by private car and was reported to be in stable condition after undergoing emergency surgery. Officers from District C Police Station responded to the incident which occurred about 8:15 p.m. Investigations are ongoing. (MWN)

THREE ON SERIOUS BODILY HARM CHARGE – Two tree trimmers and a soldier were today granted $9,000 bail each on a joint criminal charge. They are 48-year-old Rene Orlando Pilgrim and 24-year-old Raheem Akeem Grimes both, of 5th Avenue North Lowlands Drive, Friendship Terrace, St Michael and 25-year-old soldier Kyle Akeem Hutson, of Ruth Road, Ellerton, St George. They are accused of causing serious bodily harm to Ryan Gittens of April 17 with intent to maim, disfigure or disable him. They were not required to plead to the indictable charge when the matter was called before Magistrate Alison Burke this afternoon in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court. Grimes is charged separately with wounding Theirry Gittens on the same date. That charge is also indictable and he got an additional $8,000 bail on the charge. There was no objection to bail from Station Sergeant Glenda Carter-Nicholls and the three accused left the court after their sureties were accepted The tree trimmers – Grimes and Pilgrim are represented by attorney-at-law Dwight Moseley while Hutson, the soldier, has Angella Mitchell-Gittens was his legal counsel. They will next appear in court on September 14. (BT)

ALLEGED ARSONIST REMANDED – An alleged arsonist has been remanded to prison until May 19. Christopher Stephen Licorish, of no fixed place of abode, appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court today accused of destroying the home of Eugene Licorish and that of Reginald Seifert by fire on April 14. The accused could not plead to the charges in the magistrates’ court as they are indictable. Magistrate Alison Burke , sitting at the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court explained the concept of indictable cases to Licorish who responded: “I sorry it happened ma’am”. The court then explained again why he could not plead to the offence at this time. Station Sergeant Glenda Carter-Nicholls objected to bail on the grounds that the accused has no fixed place of abode and it would be difficult for police to locate him if he absconds. The prosecutor also pointed to the seriousness of the offences and the likelihood that the accused could re-offend if granted bail. In his application Licorish asked to be granted bail so he could go to the Psychiatric Hospital “to get some work”. He continued: “I could save and pay the person for the house.” His application was denied. (BT)

THIEF PICKS PRISON STAY – Scaling the walls of another man’s residence twice in a bid to steal limes during the Covid-19 curfew has landed a 45-year-old man in jail for the next six months. Tony Ricardo Harris, of Lower Carters Gap, Enterprise, Christ Church pleaded guilty to loitering on Davison Hunte’s premises on April 19 in a bid to commit theft. He also admitted to being outdoors at No 16 Oleander Drive, Enterprise Christ Church, on the same day around 3:30 p.m. without a reasonable explanation when a national emergency directive had been given to people to remain indoors. According to Station Sergeant Glenda Carter-Nicholls the complainant was at home when he observed Harris who he knew from frequenting the area, in his backyard picking limes. He shouted at him and Harris ran and climbed over the wall. However, he did not stay away for long and returned a second time and he again rushed over the wall when the homeowner saw him. He was chased by neighbours but made his escape into the sea. Police later apprehended him. “I went and pick de man limes,” Harris, who is known to the court, told lawmen when he was detained. He appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court today. When Magistrate Alison Burke asked him whether he had anything to say in his defence Harris replied: “No ma’am.” He however admitted that he knew what was taking place in the country. “Yes ma’am Covid-19,” he said. The magistrate queried his reason for being outside if he knew the situation, Harris responded: “I was trying to use two limes.” He then told the magistrate that he lived in an abandoned house. The magistrate sentenced him to six months in prison on each charge which will run concurrently. (BT)

JONES FLOORED BY FUNDING WOES –Long before the coronavirus pandemic brought sports around the world to a halt, elite boxer Ajayi Jones experienced a blow due to lack of funding. The 23-year-old 2015 Caribbean Boxing Championships gold medallist was hoping to attend the Olympic Qualifiers in Buenos Aires, Argentina originally set for March 26 to April 3. “I was preparing for the Olympic [Qualifiers] in Argentina but I was not selected to go because of lack of funding. I had the Olympic dream for about two years and when I heard I wasn’t going it shattered me. It almost made me not want to compete for the rest of the year,” he told MIDWEEK SPORT. (MWN)

MALONEY 2ND IN FIRST ESPORTS RACE – British F4 champion Zane Maloney got the better of a midfield battle and grabbed second place in the opening round of the Kokoro Performance iRacing series last Friday at the Circuit de Barcelona. Starting from grid position four, Maloney found himself in a midfield battle and defended second place in the race in which competitors used iRacing’s Dallara F3 cars with a fixed set-up provided by the organisers, and a reverse grid format for close competition throughout the field. The top four remained a closely knit bunch separated by a little more than a second separating winner Dion Gowda, Maloney, Kai Askey and James Pull as they raced over the finish line. (MWN)

PLAN TO HELP ARTISTES AS NIGHTLIFE VANISHES –The disappearance of the entertainment scene as Barbados fights the COVID-19 pandemic has left artistes singing the blues. With the island in curfew mode for almost a month, the closure of hotels and entertainment spots across the island, and the recent announcement that the 2020 Crop Over festival has been cancelled, the Barbados Association of Calypsonians and Artistes (BACA) is now working on a plan to help its members survive the slump. BACA President Sean Apache Carter said in a statement that the current events have presented the association with both a challenge and an opportunity to step up and show its worth through the proposition of revenue-earning initiatives, should the climate allow in the light of COVID-19 and the expected cancellations. Carter said: “These proposals will not only prove beneficial to our members but to the entire music fraternity. We have had cordial meetings with both the Minister Hon. John King and Chief Executive Officer of the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) Carol Roberts-Reifer, prior to the arrival of this pandemic and our position remains the same.” The BACA president noted that as the plans advance, the association eagerly anticipates working with both entities where possible for the benefit of all. He said BACA also looks forward to the stakeholders’ consultations announced by Cabinet to allow for viable solutions. With Crop Over’s cancellation, many soca and bashment artistes will be more significantly affected than calypsonians as they would normally perform at numerous fetes, limes and band launches, and tours normally scheduled for the summer have been cancelled, Carter said. He indicated that until there is a return to some sense of normalcy, or what may become the “new normal”, all entertainers who may have been anticipating the prospects of the Crop Over Festival being postponed in order to mediate the fallout mentioned above, now find themselves in a dire position. Carter further explained that the Soca Monarch and Pic-O-De-Crop competitions undoubtedly provide the biggest payday relative to an individual performance for many artistes. He said this will also have a severe impact on the many dancers from various dance troops who enhance overall performances and presentations in the competitions. He said he also believes that soca artistes will be significantly impacted by the lack of private events associated with Crop Over as generally, only the top three competitors ever walk away with a profit in any given competition. Carter told Barbados TODAY: “We represent a wide cross-section of artistes so our members are impacted at varying levels. One individual has found himself unemployed for the first time in 35 years and having paid NIS doesn’t help him at this time as there is no unemployment for self-employed persons. “A few others have communicated that they are not sure how they will pay their rent at the end of the month or even be able to buy food when the current stock runs out. These are indeed unprecedented times. The entertainment community has been hard hit by the impact of COVID-19. This is three or four weeks many have not worked and don’t know when or where the next job will be.” Carter noted that members who are part-time entertainers and have not been heavily affected by the pandemic are considering to record and release songs during this period of uncertainty. (BT)

The world is facing the rapid spread of the Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic. As we continue to do our part in Barbados please remember to stay home but on the days you have to go out wear your masks, practice social distancing (stand 6-10 feet away from each other), practice good daily hygiene, eat healthy, exercise and keep your mind active. There are 254 days left in the year Shalom! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps #bajannewscaps #newsinanutshell #coronavirusinbarbados #nationalresponse #dailynews #thechasefilesblog

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