TCI News
Turks & Caicos Islander demands better for COVID patients; no food or water for days
#Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands – August 6, 2020 — At least two patients under government quarantine have reached out to say they are not being fed, have no drinking water and have no idea when they will be able to leave the facility, despite having spent nearly three weeks in isolation.
A 60-year-old Haitian woman and a 53-year- old Haitian man are being held at the Beach House and are angered and confused by the ill-treatment they are receiving while in the care of the Turks and Caicos Ministry of Health.
Magnetic Media has reached out to the Ministry of Health about the complaint and some efforts are being made to try and rectify the situation.
Still it is outrageous to those who know the 60-year old woman, a devout church member and legal work permit holder that the older lady is forced to stay put and had not received any meals for over two days.
“We need to treat people better than this. This is just wrong! How could you hold people at the hotel and not feed them for days? Ministry of Health needs to treat people better than this. Even for a dog tied under a tree in your yard, you would make sure it had food and water,” said Bloneva Greene, friend of the woman who brought the matter to our attention.
We will use the COVID patient’s middle name – Simone – in the story, for the sake of privacy.
Simone confirmed, via telephone, that she has received the food left with the security officer by her friend. Simone added that she has shared some of the meal with the 53-year-old man also being held at the Beach House, which is a quarantine facility as he too was desperately hungry.
The pair, housed in separate living quarters, had not eaten in two days. Both asked Mrs. Greene for drinking water.
It was also disturbing to hear Simone’s comment on how her meals were served before they stopped coming altogether.
“They left de food on de ground outside the door.”
The man explained he suffers from “sugar” which means he is diabetic. The man also said he has high blood pressure and kidney problems.
“I don’t get nuttin. You put me one place, no water, no food nutting. But you trying to kill me. Send me home, I will stay. I watch TV that’s it. Nobody tell me nuttin every night. One man come and put something in my nose. I tell man, excuse me sir, you come here, you don’t give me food, you don’t give me nutting, you tell me I get 19 Covid. I gat sugar, I gat pressure and I get 19 Covid, I supposed to die? You put me here, for what?!”
For the sake of anonymity, we will use the surname of the man, which is Jean.
Mr. Jean said he has already spent 14-days at hospital after testing positive for COVID-19 and now, in government quarantine he finds the treatment is inhumane.
We are also informed that both have had subsequent coronavirus PCR tests; Mr. Jean and Simone say they were each tested twice.
“I really feel for this man too because he is telling me that the Guyanese guy who came to swab him actually said, ‘sick people don’t eat food’. Come on, how can you tell someone with underlying health conditions who has COVID-19 something like that? Of course he needs food, he needs nutrition,” fumed Mrs. Greene.
Simone has been at Beach House since Saturday and had a doctor visit on Tuesday. In that phone call, Simone shared that she told the doctor she was hungry, had not eaten in days and asked when she would be released from the quarantine facility.
The Doctor informed that there would be a phone call to say when she was free to leave, presented Simone with documents which detailed the various tests and check-ups and gave her a vitamin regimen.
On a sticky note, it was scribbled that Simone ought to have blood work completed in two months.
The physician did not communicate the meaning of the pages and pages of medical information; leaving Simone at a loss about her state of health. The doctor also had no suggestions about what 60-year-old, Simone should do for food.
Ministry of Health continues to look into the situation; it was said to Magnetic Media only moments ago by TCI Public Health that those in quarantine should have received breakfast this morning.
PRESS RELEASE
MINISTRY OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, 25 April 2024 – The Ministry of Health and Human Services is issuing a public advisory regarding a recent increase in chicken pox cases, particularly within school communities in the regions of Grand Turk and Providenciales. The Ministry is actively monitoring the situation and is working closely with affected schools to provide support and education aimed at preventing further spread of the virus.
Chicken pox, caused by the varicella-zoster virus, is a highly contagious infection characterized by a distinctive rash of itchy red spots or blisters. Transmission occurs via droplets, aerosols, or direct contact with respiratory secretions, and almost always produces clinical disease in susceptible individuals. While mostly a mild disorder in childhood, varicella tends to be more severe in adults. It may be fatal, especially in neonates and in immunocompromised persons. The Ministry urges parents, teachers, and the general public to remain vigilant and familiarize themselves with the signs and symptoms of chicken pox, which may include:
- Rash: The primary symptom of chicken pox is a rash that typically begins as small red spots, which then develop into fluid-filled blisters over several days.
- Fever: Children with chicken pox may experience a mild to moderate fever, often preceding the appearance of the rash.
- Fatigue: Some individuals may feel generally unwell, tired, or lethargic.
- Loss of Appetite: A decreased desire to eat may accompany other symptoms of chicken pox.
Management aims to relieve symptoms and reduce the risk of complications and may include:
- drinking plenty of fluid (try popsicles if your child is not drinking) to avoid dehydration.
- taking paracetamol to help with pain and discomfort.
- cut your child’s fingernails and put socks on their hands at night to stop them scratching.
- use cooling creams or gels e.g. Calamine lotion
- speak to your health care provider about using antihistamine medicine to help itching.
- bathe in cool water and pat the skin dry (do not rub)
- dress in loose clothes.
- do not use ibuprofen unless advised to do so by a doctor, as it may cause serious skin infections.
- do not give aspirin to children under 16.
- do not go near newborn babies, or anyone who is pregnant or has a weakened immune system, as chickenpox can be dangerous for them.
- do not scratch the spots, as scratching can cause scarring.
To mitigate the spread of chicken pox within schools and communities, the Ministry emphasizes the importance of practicing good hygiene habits, including frequent handwashing with soap and water, covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue or elbow, and avoiding close contact with infected individuals.
In the event that a child exhibits symptoms of chicken pox, parents and caregivers are advised to keep them at home and seek medical attention promptly. A sick leave for a period of 14 days is usually given. After the 14 day sick leave period, the individual must return to the physician or the public health nurse at one of the primary care clinics to obtain a fit for work or school certificate allowing them re-entry back into school or work. Anyone returning earlier than this time or without this certificate should not be allowed in school so as to prevent spread to other children. Additionally, it is crucial to inform school authorities to prevent further transmission among classmates and staff.
The Ministry of Health and Human Services is committed to ensuring the health and well-being of all citizens, and will continue to work diligently to address this current situation. For further information and guidance on chicken pox prevention and management, please visit Turks and Caicos Islands Ministry of Health and Human Services Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/tciministryofhealth/.
Wilkie Arthur
Freelance Court Correspondent
#TurksandCaicos, April 25, 2024 – He was busted at the Howard Hamilton Providenciales International Airport on Friday, April 16, 2024.
He allegedly had in his luggage four (4) rounds of 6.5mm ammunition on his departure to his homeland in Oklahoma in the United States of America (USA).
Ryan Watson and his wife were arrested and placed into police lock up. Both were later granted police bail, and upon return to police station the Monday after the couple’s arrest, the husband alone was charged by detective Police Constable Kimberlee Markland for
unlawful possession of the four rounds of ammunition.
Watson was escorted to court on Tuesday, April 23rd, placed before the learned Chief Magistrate Mr. Jolyon Hatmin and remanded to His Majesty’s Prison until his sufficiency hearing on June 7, this (2024) year.
His counsel, Mr. Oliver Smith KC and his junior assistant Mrs. Kimone Tennant immediately sought bail for him in the Supreme Court which was heard the following day (Wednesday April 24) before her Ladyship Ms. Tanya Lobban-Jackson and was granted bail, without hassle in the amount or $15,000.00 cash or surety.
The Crown, in the person of senior public prosecutor Ms. Tassja Mitchell did not oppose bail.
Magnetic Media can report that once again on the afternoon of the Tuesday April 24th, after the accused RYAN TYLER WATSON, 41 was remanded by the Magistrate’s court, the U.S. Embassy issued an warning to it’s citizens and travelers to carefully check their bags when traveling to Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) as TCI authorities are strictly enforcing firearm and ammunition laws and if found you could go to prison for 12 years.
A real question of great concern and public importance is: should the TCI courts sentence tourists to the full mandatory minimum of 12 years imprisonment for simple possession firearm and/or ammunition.
The succinct answer is: Yes!
The Court of Appeal, just last month said in its written judgment that “ALL PERSONS,” including tourist/visitors must go to prison if found guilty or pleas guilty to firearm and ammunition offences.
However, there remains the concern about how much time in prison a judge should give a visitor regardless of the existence of exceptional circumstances.
Should the judge imprison a visitor to the territory, who may have been wrongly informed, for example, the full mandatory minimum term or must a reduced prison term be imposed.
If TCI judges start to give less than the mandatory minimum to tourists/visitors, it is being strong and widely advocated by senior defense attorneys that the same must apply to local or residents of these Islands, who may also present exceptional circumstances.
Arguments about the equity in delivery of justice is what drove the question to the Court of Appeal late in 2023. The decision came this past February.
‘We cannot find ourselves sentencing tourists regardless of exceptional circumstances to lesser sentences, and when those same exceptional circumstances are found in local cases, it’s being ignored by our judges.’
Human Rights Attorney, Sheena Mair has on more than one occasion argued this point; including in firearm and ammunition bail applications. She would put the very same judges and prosecutors from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution on the spot by reminding the judges and the prosecutors that precedent has been set.
‘You’ve just granted bail to a tourist for firearm and ammunition but now here’s a local person, same charge but because he’s a local he can’t get bail? He has to be remanded pending a trial that could take years before it’s heard?’
Mair has valiantly outlined the wrong in this and clearly stated this practice is “not fair” and it’s “not proper administration of justice in the Turks and Caicos Islands.”
Ms. Mair further complained that tourists would plea guilty to possession of firearm and ammunition and be released on bail pending sentencing but as for a local, he or she has to wait on remand at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation pending sentencing.
The attorney criticizes the optics of such decisions and is on record reminding the Judge that the Court of Appeal has already set out that the law applies to everyone; visitors and locals alike.
A police statement issued Wednesday April 24 informs: “Today (April 24th), Mr. Watson appeared in the Supreme Court and, following a bail application, was granted $15,000 bail with the following conditions:
1) Not travel out of TCI without the court’s permission.
2) Surrender his passport and all other travel documents to the court
3) Report to Grace Bay Police Station on Tuesdays and Thursdays between the hours of 8 am-4 pm,
4) Reside at the given address in Providenciales; any address change will be provided before the court.”
The American from Oklahoma whose story is trending in the US and has been carried by leading news networks was joined by a host of loved ones at the Courthouse.
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