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Barbados Enters Stage 3; Institutes Night Time Curfew

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#Barbados, March 26, 2020 — As cases of COVID-19 in Barbados reached 24 today, a decision has been taken to convene Parliament tomorrow to amend the Emergency Management Act.  This will allow for the declaration of a public health emergency.

As a result, a curfew will be in place from Saturday, March 28, until Tuesday, April 14, from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. for all residents, except those who are part of the essential services.

Barbados ready for testing, PAHO led

Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, in an address to the nation tonight, stated: “To be absolutely clear, the first day when 24-hour movement will be allowed for all persons again, unless further extended, will be Wednesday, the 15th of April.”

The Prime Minister identified the essential services as including the uniformed organizations of Barbados; security organizations; the Royal Barbados Police Force; the Fire Service; the Barbados Prison Service; Immigration; Customs officers; the medical and paramedical professions; caregivers; hospital providers; utility companies; telecommunications; media and broadcasting services; the provision of essential transport; the collection, storage, purification and distribution of water; the collection, storage, treatment and disposal of sewage and garbage; and the removal of persons who have passed away.

Dr. Anton Best, Chief Medical Officer

There will also be a number of services which will be allowed to operate during the course of the day, within the time frame of 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., but the hours would differ, she disclosed. 

After the amendment passes in Parliament tomorrow, details of these will come in an announcement by Attorney General Dale Marshall, who will be joined by the Minister of Health and Wellness, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Bostic, the COVID-19 Czar, Richard Carter, and the Acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Anton Best.

The Prime Minister outlined that businesses which will not be impacted by the new restrictions include grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants for take-away or drive-through only, shops, commercial bakeries, butcher shops, abattoirs, and gas stations, along with fishermen and farmers.

PAHO prepares Barbados for testing

Some government workers will be working from home, Ms. Mottley said, but she gave the assurance that “critical ministries”, which will be identified, will remain open to service the public between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

She, however, cautioned: “While there will therefore be some activity remaining between 6:00 in the morning and 8:00 at night, we are appealing to all Barbadians to please minimize the number of times you need to go outside.  Persons have done well, thus far.  We can continue to do well if we hold each other’s back up at this very critical time.”

Barbados testing preparation by PAHO

She made it clear that the country had enough food supplies and the grocery stores will remain open, therefore there was no need for “any mad rush” as the result of the imposition of the restricted hours for movement.

Barbados Government Information Service by JOY SPRINGER

joy.springer@barbados.gov.bb

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CARPHA Progresses to Eligibility for the First Disbursement of Pandemic Funding

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Following a landmark Public Signing Ceremony for the Pandemic Fund (PF) Technical Cooperation Agreement (“Reducing the Public Health Impact of Pandemics in the Caribbean through Prevention, Preparedness, and Response” [RG-T4387] Project) on December 14, 2023, in Trinidad, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) continues to progress towards the start of implementation.

 CARPHA fulfilled the IDB’s nine conditions prior to first disbursement, achieving full eligibility on March 15, 2024, and is now eligible for the first disbursement. This milestone achievement in just 3 months after the signing speaks to the commitment of both CARPHA, the Executing Agency, and IDB, the Implementing Entity, toward the regional PF project with the objective of supporting the reduction of the public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean by building pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPR) surveillance & early-warning systems (EWS), laboratory systems and workforce capacity, regionally at CARPHA and in countries.

Since the signing of the Technical Cooperation Agreement and as part of the conditions prior to first disbursement, CARPHA has achieved the following key outputs (i) the development of the PF Project Operations Manual, Multi-annual Execution Plan, Procurement Plan, Financial Plan, Procedure for CARPHA’s Financial Reporting System; (ii) vacancy announcements for two tranches of consultants with the subsequent hiring of five (Technical Coordinator, Financial Specialist, Procurement Specialist, Operations Officer and Project Operations Coordinator) and (iii) the establishment of the Project Execution Unit (PEU) and Project Execution Steering Committee (PESC). The dedicated PEU will be responsible for execution according to its planned timelines, which will be led by the Dr. Lisa Indar, the Project Director (CARPHA’s Director of Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control Division).

 CARPHA, as the lead regional public health agency and an expression of Caribbean Cooperation in Health is mandated by its Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) to support its 26 CARPHA Member States (CMS) in bolstering national systems and coordinating regional response to public health threats. The Agency works closely with regional and international agencies and uses regional mechanisms, surveillance systems, and networks for coordinating its public health response work.

In July 2023, the PF Governing Board announced that CARPHA’s regional entity proposal, entitled ‘Reducing the Public Health Impact of Pandemics in the Caribbean through Strengthened Integrated Early Warning Surveillance, Laboratory Systems and Workforce Development’ was successfully selected for the first round of financing. It was one of only 19 proposals selected from over 300 submissions and the only regional project. The three priority areas in the proposal are: (i) Comprehensive disease surveillance and EWS, (ii) Laboratory systems and (iii) Human resources and public health and community workforce capacity.

This project is expected to begin implementation in March 2024, starting off with a blended onboarding session. A Stakeholder Meeting with countries is tentatively planned for July 2024.

CARPHA remains dedicated to working together with the IDB, CARPHA Member States and the Pandemic Fund to successfully implement the regional proposal geared toward reducing the public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean.

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Men who had Murdered Man, Marley Higgs’ cell phone face Court

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Wilkie Arthur

Freelance Court Correspondent

The prosecution intends to try two young North Caicos men, both age 21 for the offense of possession of property of a murdered man, property that was stolen and landed in their possession.

The phone belonged to Peureton ‘Marley’ Higgs, who is believed to have been an innocent gunned down at his apartment complex in the Glass Shack area in a spray of bullets on February 2 that killed another man and wounded two others, including a ten-year-old little girl.

The cell phone was described as white in colour, an iPhone, in a hard black case. 

On Monday, March 18th, JEFFVANO HANDFIELD of North Caicos pleaded not guilty to the offense, and the matter was adjourned to April 2024. He was granted bail in the matter.

A second North Caicos man was charged similarly.  

SARENO CAPELLAN aka, Kino Williams is the second individual brought before the court pertaining to the said cellphone. He appeared in court a week after JEFFVANO HANDFIELD, the date being Monday March 25th 2024.

The case for the Crown is that both men sometime in February of this year possessed the cellphone knowing or suspecting it to be stolen property.

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Supreme Court Closed for Easter

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NOTICE is hereby given that the Easter Recess shall commence on Friday 29th April, 2024 and end on Friday 5th April, 2024. During the Easter Recess Judge Selochan will be available to deal only with matters that are urgent or require prompt attention.

Court Business During the Easter Recess

A person who wishes to have a matter heard during the recess must file a certificate of urgency along with an affidavit, which must set out the reasons why the matter is urgent or requires prompt attention. The matter will not be listed during the recess unless the Judge deems it fit for urgent hearing.

Opening Hours During the Easter Holiday

The Supreme Court’s last sitting day for the first term is Thursday 28th March, 2024. The Court will officially resume sittings on Monday 8th April, 2024. The Supreme Court Offices in both Grand Turk and Providenciales will continue to operate while the Court is not sitting during the recess.

The Court Office will be closed on the following public holidays:

  • Friday 29th March, 2024 (Good Friday) CLOSED
  • Monday 1st April, 2024 (Easter Monday) CLOSED

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