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Cry for help; TCI Residents stuck abroad feel forsaken

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#TurksandCaicosIslands – August 10, 2020 — Coming home has never been harder and believing the Turks and Caicos is open for tourism business has never been so unbelievable.

Easily fingered as the culprit, is COVID-19, which is responsible for 732,000 deaths world-wide; some 20 million people have been infected.

Still, everyone agrees that life must go on and though it is generally accepted the ‘new normal’ will sometimes make unconstitutional demands, Turks and Caicos Islanders are today questioning the fairness and logic of what they are mandated to do in order to return to their homeland.

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Concerns are mounting and frustration is high specifically about the timeframe given for the negative COVID-19 PCR test which must be submitted with other documents through the TCI Assured portal for travel approval. 

The Turks and Caicos Ministry of Health requires the test be done and presented within five days of travel to the territory.  The five-day window includes the day test swabs are taken.

Illogical; returning citizens say because getting a test done and returned within five days is next to impossible.

In one case; a Grand Turk native is for the third time waiting to have the requisite test completed.  Two negatives have been presented, one missed the deadline and the second was questioned as legitimate.  Although, it was ultimately determined that the test result was valid, it took two days.  Which meant the applicant, travelling home on connecting flights was now six-hours outside of the five-day window.

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No consideration was given to the delay experienced as the test result was authenticated by the Ministry of Health, we are told.  Due to the competitiveness to secure a coronavirus test, the earliest date for the new appointment is nine days from now.

In another case; a Providenciales native has negative results of tests for the family but the earliest connecting flight puts them, mere hours outside of the five day window.  They were told by the TCI Assured portal managers they will have to test again in the transit destination before coming home.

The challenge is the transit destination has quarantined them for 14-days; which means they have no way of getting out to take the tests and are still denied entry by the country they call “home”.

In yet another situation; an 11-year old child is trying to come home to Provo.  It is explained the test was taken on August 4, the results were received August 9 and earliest travel home is (tomorrow) August 11.  The applicant was denied by TCI Assured because they have tallied the five days from time of test taken to date of travel; which is seven days. 

Fortunately for the 11-year old, the test is free.

Tourism is also taking a hit as the process proves too tedious for many guests; these tourists are aborting their mission to escape to the Turks and Caicos Islands and cancelling bookings.

The residents have all put pen to paper several times; explaining their circumstances. While those emails and messages have gained them some sympathy, there is no meaningful change which grants permission for a return home. 

All are amenable to a 14-day quarantine and further testing upon arrival.  All feel let down and discarded by ‘home’.  All are running out of cash and time.

It is a cry for help and a hope that these appeals are met with not only sensitivity, but urgency.

Magnetic Media is a Telly Award winning multi-media company specializing in creating compelling and socially uplifting TV and Radio broadcast programming as a means for advertising and public relations exposure for its clients.

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Decomposing Body Found

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***MEDIA RELEASE***

 

Turks and Caicos, February 5, 2025 – The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force is investigating the discovery of a decomposing body found in the vicinity of Delco Yard, Snake Hill, Blue Hills.

At approximately 7:45 pm on Tuesday, January 15, 2025, officers received information regarding the presence of a body in a ditch near Delco Yard.  A team of officers and the TCI Regiment were deployed to the scene.

Upon arrival, officers confirmed the presence of a deceased male wearing black jeans and blue Jordan sneakers. The deceased had a black locks hairstyle. The body was in an advanced state of decomposition.

If you have any information that could assist in identifying the deceased or in the ongoing investigation, please call 911 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477 (TIPS).

Information can also be shared via the Crime Stoppers P3 app.

Further updates will be provided as the investigation progresses.

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Turks and Caicos is on Live TV Again. This Time, as a Top Romantic Getaway Destination

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Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands — Visit Turks and Caicos Islands secured a coveted live television feature for the country Tuesday morning on Live with Kelly and Mark, the American morning show watched by millions and hosted by actors Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos.

Content provided exclusively by VisitTCI.com helped promote Turks and Caicos as one of only six destinations the segment highlighted as the best spots for a romantic getaway.

“That’s what it actually looks like,” said Ripa, pointing to the titular VisitTCI.com image of Middle Caicos, while Consuelos mused about the country’s trademark white sand and turquoise water.

The feature comes less than a month after Visit Turks and Caicos Islands collaborated with NBC’s TODAY and Travel + Leisure on a segment that featured the archipelago as one of the 50 best places to travel in 2025.

The Turks and Caicos Islands is a popular destination for weddings, honeymoons, and proposals. Several celebrities have chosen to marry in Turks and Caicos, from model Emma Heming and actor Bruce Willis—a former long-time owner of property on Parrot Cay—to Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry and Amanda Sheppard.

Ripa and Consuelos, who are married, visited the Turks and Caicos for a kid-free getaway themselves in 2009.

Live with Kelly and Mark is one of the most-viewed entertainment talk shows on American television, with an audience of more than 2.5 million total viewers.

The show joins a collection of dozens of media companies and publications that Visit Turks and Caicos Islands has partnered with to promote Turks and Caicos as a leading tourism destination. VisitTCI.com has collaborated with powerhouse publications such as National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, AFAR, and Condé Nast Traveler.

You can watch a recording of the show at livewithkellyandmark.com.

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SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS WARNS AGAINST “TREATING”

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PRESS RELEASE

FROM THE ELECTIONS DEPARTMENT

 

 

Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, 6th February 2025 – Political campaigning is well on the way for Turks and Caicos Islands General Elections that is scheduled to be held February 7th 2025 and the Supervisor of Elections take the opportunity of reminding Candidates, Political Parties and Independent Candidates or anyone associated with them of the need to comply with the provisions of the Election Ordinance, and in particular he reminds what is expected by virtue of Section 81 of the said Ordinance which reads:

  1. Every person who corruptly, by himself or by any other person, either before, during or after an election, directly or indirectly, give or provides or pays, wholly or in part, the expenses of giving or providing any food, drink, entertainment, or provision to or for any person for the purpose of corruptly influencing that person or any other person, to vote or to refrain from voting at such election, or on account of such person or any other person having voted or refrained from voting at such election;
  2. Every voter who corruptly accepts or takes any such food, drink, entertainment, or provision.

The Supervisor also explained that “Treating” has been illegal for many years and in the past, leading up to the General Election some people choose to ignore the offence of Treating and such behavior he said will not be ignored.

The person offering this kind of inducement is committing a serious criminal offence and so is any member of the public who accepts a gift or cash.

The Supervisor has also warned that he will follow up upon all reports received and will not hesitate to collaborate with the Police to initiate criminal investigation.

Political Party bodies and Candidates should make it known through their organization or campaign machinery of the need to comply with the law so as to uphold the law and ensure a level playing field between campaigns in the best interest of voters in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Anyone who is found guilty of Treating under the Election Ordinance shall on summary conviction be liable to a fine of $5,000 or to imprisonment for twelve months or both.

Please avoid any activity that attracts the attention of treating and any other provision of the Election Ordinance

 

Lister Dudley Lewis

Supervisor of Elections

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