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Ready if ebola comes

Colville Mounsey
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Ready if ebola comes

Barbados has activated heightened public health surveillance systems and intensified screening measures at its airport and seaport amid growing international concern over the latest ebola outbreak in Africa.

Health authorities have pointed out that while the risk to the island remains low, it is “not zero”.

Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Arthur Phillips said Government had formally moved to a “watching brief” following the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaration, triggering a review and implementation of national preparedness plans for viral haemorrhagic fevers.

“The Ministry of Health and Wellness assesses the current risk to Barbados and the wider Caribbean as low, but not zero,” Phillips said.

“While there are no direct epidemiological links between the affected regions in Africa and the Caribbean, the risk of importation exists due to the region’s high connectivity through international travel,” he added.

The latest outbreak has prompted increased global monitoring after health officials in Africa reported confirmed cases and deaths linked to the virus, reviving memories of previous ebola crises which overwhelmed sections of West Africa and triggered international travel alerts and emergency responses. The WHO has since declared the situation a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), leading countries worldwide to review border surveillance and infectious disease preparedness systems. Phillips disclosed that heightened monitoring was already in effect at the Grantley Adams International Airport and the Bridgetown Port, with authorities utilising enhanced travel screening systems to identify people who may have travelled through affected territories.

“At this time, there are no recommended travel restrictions or quarantine requirements for travellers. However, heightened port health surveillance is in effect and this includes enhanced, riskbased travel history screening using systems like the Advanced Passenger Information System,” he said.

The Acting CMO stressed that Barbados had the capacity to rapidly identify, isolate and contain any suspected ebola case should one arise locally.

“Existing clinical protocols are in place for the safe management of patients suspected of having an infectious disease,” he added.

Phillips gave the assurance that local medical facilities remained equipped with the necessary protective gear and isolation capabilities to manage suspected cases.

“The ministry is currently ensuring that adequate Personal Protective Equipment is available and that clear management protocols are maintained,” he said.

Early warning systems

Phillips said Barbados’ experience during the COVID-19 pandemic had significantly strengthened its emergency response systems and public health coordination mechanisms.

“The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated Barbados’ resilience and innovation in responding to emerging health threats. Key lessons include the importance of maintaining high institutional trust and the effective use of integrated early warning systems such as the Tourism and Health Information System, which were refined during the pandemic.”

Barbados is also working closely with regional and international agencies, including the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), the WHO, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), and regional security agency IMPACS to facilitate regional monitoring, information sharing, and access to specialised laboratory networks.

While international concern over misinformation surrounding disease outbreaks has been increasing, Phillips said officials were not seeing any major issue locally.

“The strategy is to provide targeted, evidence-based messaging to preserve the high level of trust the public has in health professionals and Government agencies,” Phillips said.

He also urged Barbadians to familiarise themselves with the symptoms associated with ebola, noting that the disease has an incubation period ranging from two to 21 days and early symptoms included fever, severe headache, muscle pain, weakness, fatigue and sore throat, while more advanced symptoms can include vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and unexplained bleeding or bruising.

He noted that systems such as the Caribbean Vessel Surveillance System and the Tourism and Health Information System were providing real-time monitoring of cruise and tourism activity to identify any potential health irregularities.

Phillips added that while ebola testing was not conducted in Barbados, strict international protocols were in place to safely transport samples overseas. ( CLM)

US-bound plane diverts to Canada after person from Ebola-hit region boards ‘in error’

Nationnews Desk
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US-bound plane diverts to Canada after person from Ebola-hit region boards ‘in error’

A plane from Paris to Detroit was forced to divert to Canada after a passenger from the Ebola-hit Democratic Republic of Congo boarded the plane “in error”, officials have said.

US entry restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of the deadly virus meant the passenger should not have boarded the Air France plane, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency told the BBC.

Almost 140 people are believed to have died from Ebola in the outbreak in central Africa, with more than 600 suspected cases identified.

Officials did not specify if the passenger was showing symptoms of the virus or when the person was last in DR Congo.

Cabin crew put on masks after the captain announced the diversion, a passenger on the flight toldthe BBC’s US partner CBS News.

Deborah Mistor said passengers were informed of the change four hours before they were due to land: “I think enough people must have been questioning what was going on because 30 minutes later, [the captain] came back on and said that he wanted to confirm that there was nothing wrong with the plane, there were no technical difficulties, that it was strictly because of US authorities not allowing us to land in the US.”

She added that people were subsequently flown to Detroit on the same aircraft.

Air France confirmed to US media that “at the request of US authorities, [the flight] was diverted to Montreal Airport after a Congolese passenger on board was denied entry into the United States”.

The US border agency CBP said: “Air France boarded a passenger from the Democratic Republic of Congo in error on a flight to the United States.”

The agency said it took “decisive action” to stop the flight landing at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. It was diverted by about 500 miles (800km) to Montreal, Canada.

The US is restricting entry for people without US passports who were in DR Congo, South Sudan or Uganda in the last three weeks.

US passport holders and permanent residents who have been in those countries can only enter through Washington-Dulles International Airport in Virginia for enhanced screening.

The current Ebola outbreak has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the risk to the US was relatively low, but it would introduce measures to prevent the disease from entering the country.

One American has tested positive – a doctor who was working with a medical missionary group in DR Congo. He is being treated in a special isolation ward at a hospital in Germany.

The Bundibugyo species of the virus does not yet have a vaccine, and it could take up to nine months before a vaccine against it is ready, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday. (BBC News)

Arrests made following robbery involving visitor at Bay Street

Nationnews Desk
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Arrests made following robbery involving visitor at Bay Street

The Barbados Police Service says several young men have been arrested following investigations into a robbery involving a visitor to the island.

Police said the incident occurred near a business establishment along Bay Street, St Michael on Sunday, May 17.

According to the police, investigations into the matter led to the arrests and charges are expected to be laid against the individuals.

In a statement, the Barbados Police Service said it would remain “relentless” in pursuing perpetrators of crimes committed against both locals and visitors to the island.

Police also thanked the public and the media for their assistance as investigations continue.

Police issue wanted bulletin for ‘Mad Rapper’

Nationnews Desk
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Police issue wanted bulletin for ‘Mad Rapper’

The Barbados Police Service is seeking the public’s assistance in locating Terry Corie Alexandra Waldron, also known as “Mad Rapper”, who is wanted for questioning in connection with serious criminal matters.

Police said Waldron has no fixed place of abode and is approximately 5 feet 9 inches tall, slimly built and dark in complexion, with small eyes and a broad nose. He wears his hair in dreadlocks.

He also has several distinctive tattoos, including a puzzle design covering his left eye, the word “ERICA” on his left wrist and the word “OUTLAW” on his right forearm.

Waldron has been advised to present himself to the Criminal Investigations Department (South) at the Oistins Police Station, accompanied by an attorney-at-law of his choice.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact the Criminal Investigations Department (South) at 418-2608 or 418-2612, Police Emergency at 211, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477, or the nearest police station.

Police also reminded the public that harbouring or assisting wanted persons is a serious offence and may result in prosecutio

Pacers bowl Red Force to historic West Indies Championship title

Nationnews Desk
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Pacers bowl Red Force to historic West Indies Championship title

Trinidad and Tobago Red Force’s pace quartet of Jayden Seales, Anderson Phillip, Terrance Hinds and Joshua James ran through the Guyana Harpy Eagles’ lineup in impressive fashion to bowl their side to its first West Indies Championship title in two decades.

Given a realistic chance of capturing their fourth straight title after being set 281 for victory on Wednesday’s final day, the Harpy Eagles could not contend with T&T’s fast bowlers and were routed for 139 in 35 overs just after lunch at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, handing their opponents their first four-day title since 2006.

Both sides would have fancied their chances of pushing for victory after the Harpy Eagles wrapped up T&T’s second innings for the addition of only two runs.

Resuming on 265 for eight, Evin Lewis failed to add to his overnight total of 122 before being dismissed by Gudakesh Motie and Veerasammy Permaul snared the wicket of last man Anderson Phillip for a duck.

But the defending champions got off to a nightmare start in their run chase, with Seales having Matthew Nandu caught for a duck and Phillip dismissing Tagenarine Chanderpaul by way of the lbw route to reduce them to nine for two within the first four overs.

It proved to be a position they would not recover from, with T&T’s four-pronged attack responsible for the destruction.

Skipper Tevin Imlach hit three fours in his brief knock of 16 before he became Seales’ second victim, and when Phillip struck again to removed Kemol Savory, the Harpy Eagles were in real trouble at 61 for four.

James then joined in on the action by trapping Jonathan van Lange lbw for 10 and having Keemo Paul caught for 16, to see Guyana slip to 99 for six.

Kevlon Anderson and Gudakesh Motie then combined for the biggest partnership of the innings, a 29-run stand for the seventh wicket.

But once Seales removed Anderson for the top score of 41 off 68 balls, Hinds mopped up the rest of the tail.

He began by bowling Motie for 18, then had Shamar Joseph caught behind for five before wrapping up the match by hitting the off stump of last man Nial Smith to spark wild celebrations among his teammates.

Hinds finished as the pick of T&T’s bowlers with 3-20, Seales claimed 3-39, while James (2-12) and Phillip (2-63) provided good support. (CMC)

Trinidad Express moves to retrench staff – union vows to fight

Nationnews Desk
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Trinidad Express moves to retrench staff – union vows to fight

The Banking, Insurance and General Workers Union (BIGWU) says it is moving swiftly to protect employees of the Trinidad Express newspaper following the company’s decision to retrench several editorial staff members as part of a restructuring exercise.

In a letter to workers on Wednesday,  the union acknowledged the anxiety surrounding the proposed cuts, stating: “We deeply understand that this is an incredibly tense and distressing time for everyone. Facing the threat of job losses strikes at the very heart of our livelihoods and our families. However, we want to assure you in no uncertain terms: your Union is actively seized of this matter.”

Months after one of the country’s newspapers shut down, the Trinidad Express informed BIGWU, which represents its staff, that it plans to reduce its editorial department from 33 to 26 employees.

Under the proposed restructuring plan, two sub-editors, one night editor position—which is to be made redundant—and four reporters, including three based in Port-of-Spain and one in San Fernando, are expected to be affected.

The union also stressed that the company must comply with all legal procedures governing restructuring and retrenchment exercises.

“While the company frames this as a ‘proposed restructuring review,’ strict legal procedures must be followed under the law. We will hold management fully accountable to those legal frameworks,” BIGWU said, adding that its executive was reviewing the details and would issue a formal response soon.

The announcement comes just two weeks after the newspaper’s parent company, One Caribbean Media, reported an after-tax profit of TT$4.36 million for the three-month period ending March 31.

In the company’s May 7 financial report, Chairman Faarees Hosein said the Trinidad media business continued to face a difficult advertising market, though there were early signs of recovery. He said the company was pursuing cost-saving measures and structural efficiencies while enhancing multimedia offerings to improve long-term sustainability.

The media industry has faced mounting challenges over the past year, with reduced advertising revenue from both government and private sector entities affecting operations across the sector.

In January, Newsday ceased operations, leaving 60 employees jobless after liquidators from Ernst & Young were appointed to oversee the winding up of the company’s affairs.

Last year, Digicel Group also shut down its digital media platform Loop and announced the closure of regional sports broadcaster SportsMax, affecting more than 100 workers across the region. (CMC)

Cover coming for those in non-standard employment

Gercine Carter
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Cover coming for those in non-standard employment

Barbadian workers engaged in non-standard forms of employment who currently find themselves outside the National Insurance and Social Security Service net are being targeted for coverage under the island’s social security system. 

The National Portable Benefits Framework, outlined in a resolution passed in the House of Assembly recently, is designed to ensure that those workers who “contribute labour, value and productivity to the development of Barbados, yet remain exposed to insecurity, can enjoy social security protection”.

Leading off debate on the resolution, MP for St George North and general secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union, Toni Moore, noted that too often, social protection was treated as attaching to a job title or contractural label, rather than to the worker as a person. The fundamental tenet of the framework is the principle that social security must follow the employer and not the job, hence contributions must accumulate according to the number of jobs done by the worker over his years of work engagement.

Moore said the resolution which the House was being asked to support was a portable benefits framework, anchored in the National Insurance and Social Security Service (NISSS), and would require “every employer, contractor, platform agency, engager or other beneficiary of labour to make contributions on behalf of every worker for the duration of that engagement to ensure continuity of protection, regardless of the form or length of work”.

The resolution also calls for the supporting administrative, technological and enforcement measures necessary to ensure that the framework is effective, equitable and accessible. 

Moore said the idea that social security must follow the job and not the worker was based on
the stated view that as more and more employees moved towards multiple engagements, the
21 hours a week that must be worked so that contributions can be paid in on behalf of the worker no longer existed.

“I think what we speak of very often is the fact that we have so many workers in contract positions, but what people in Barbados don’t pay attention to is the fact that equally we have so many workers in no-contract positions . . . where from day to day you don’t know what hours you are working, how many hours you are working, if you are working or otherwise.”

Referring to St Michael South MP Kirk Humphrey’s contribution to the debate, Moore said whether the workers were “gig workers, freelancers in the media that we often take for granted what they are doing and the conditions under which they work, often in conditions where they are chasing stories with no fixed hours, no regular hours, may mean some of them don’t have access to the very protection that has been on the discussion in this Chamber for the past two months . . . they are all instrumental in building our economy but too often they are not building protection for themselves”.

The Private Members’ Resolution had been under discussion before being formally brought
to the House recently.

Moore said: “Over the last two months, in the sessions where it was debated . . . we have argued to show how the old model is broken; we have supported our arguments with the facts that the [NISSS] cannot survive if 30 per cent of the workers . . . remained in informality and where fewer than
20 per cent of them at the time were contributing to self-employment.”  (GC)

Barbados ‘must step up’ airspace game

Shawn Cumberbatch
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Barbados ‘must step up’ airspace game

Barbados must introduce the necessary equipment and policies to ensure that it no longer misses out on revenue from aircraft transiting the country’s upper airspace.

Minister of Finance Ryan Straughn said this was an important step the island needed to take considering that other CARICOM countries may be collecting money that rightfully belonged to Barbados.

“For as long as I have known myself, I have heard that there is another CARICOM country that has been collecting the revenue for planes transiting our airspace and therefore, if we are going to take what is ours, then we have got to up our game to make sure that when we assert that this is ours, that we have the capability to enforce,” Straughn said speaking during debate on the Civil Aviation Bill, 2026 recently in the House of Assembly.

He added: “And therefore these measures are important for us to be able to say, ‘well, when you look up in the sky and you see the plane passing in the higher altitude, they have got piece of change for Barbados’.

“But if we can’t validate that that is our airspace up there and that whatever the tail number of the aircraft passed in this time, then the little revenue for the Civil Aviation Authority they are going to come and ask me for the money.

“So I want them to get the equipment fast, to upgrade so that we can get that money and I am being very serious because as we are now repositioning . . . this country to take on more of this type of activity then I would expect, as we are bringing aircraft from Africa and the Middle East . . . from Latin America and the like, that we must know what is happening in our airspace.”
(SC)

Ice woes continue in fishing sector

Ashada Joseph
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Ice woes continue in fishing sector

Poor management as well as the inadequate access to ice within the fisheries sectors is threatening the livelihood of fisherfolk, president of Black Fin Fleet Cooperative Society, Moonesh Dharampaul, reiterated on Tuesday. 

He was speaking to members of the media following a visit to the Bridgetown Fisheries Complex by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) assistant director-general and regional representative, Rene Orellana Halkyer, and members of the fisheries sector.

Dharampaul said the facility was operating with only one functioning compressor, severely limiting ice production for more than 150 boats, some of which required seven or eight tons of ice.

He said the situation had become so severe, that some fishermen were forced to travel to Grenada or seek private suppliers in order to continue operating.

“We have another boat that received ice from Glacier Pure in St George, which is a labour intensive process and another which will receive ice from Oistins. The best option is to be able to have the ice blown into the boat from the dock and going out,” he noted.

He also blamed poor management across the board for the issue affecting the ice machine and called for Chief Fisheries Officer Dr Shelly-Ann Cox to be put in charge of the seafoods markets, as he pointed to lack of engagement in relation to maintenance, communication and accountability.

Dharampaul noted that the permanent secretary, along with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Environment, National Beautification and Fisheries Santia Bradshaw, ordered a report from the senior manager of fish markets on the machine, which included maintenance logs, proposals for new equipment and new machinery.

Additionally, he said the cooperative is pushing for an independent audit on the machine and for a public-private partnership with the ice machine.

“We believe that this partnership would be able to reduce the cost to Government, increase the efficiencies of the ice machine and, at the end of the day, give the fishermen a sense of partnership, a sense of ownership in being in the industry and we think that this is something that needs to be done sooner rather than later,” he said.

The challenge at times, stated Dharampaul, was that the ice was available but personnel was not present to blow the ice onto the boats and that affected whether boats could go out to sea.

He said the level of frustration has been overwhelming and some individuals decided not to return to work because of a lack of ice. 

“They’d rather sit down home because the risk is too high and you can’t get the ice. There’s no infrastructure for us to run a business. You have to imagine that in the industry, if you have 280 boats, that’s 280 self-employed people. Fisheries is the only sector with . . . generational wealth.

“I fish my father boat. My father fishes my father’s boat and my son can fish my boat; that is what we want at the end of the day. We’re too frustrated with these little things that can be dealt with,” he said.

He said the cooperative was pushing to have the first traditional bait and fishing school as a course, which will teach participants how to get back into the water to increase the number of individuals in the industry. (AJ)

US charges Cuba’s Raúl Castro with murder 

Nationnews Desk
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US charges Cuba’s Raúl Castro with murder 

The US has charged former Cuban leader Raúl Castro with conspiracy to kill US nationals and other crimes over the downing of two planes between Cuba and Florida in 1996.

The case unveiled on Wednesday – a revival of charges originally from 2003 – accuses Castro and five others of shooting down aircraft belonging to Cuban American group Brothers to the Rescue and killing four people, including three Americans.

Castro, now 94, was the head of the country’s armed forces and faced international condemnation over the crash.

As the US seeks to exert increasing pressure on Cuba’s communist rule, President Miguel Díaz-Canel called the charges “a political manoeuvre, devoid of any legal foundation”.

Speaking at Freedom Tower in Miami, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that the US would also charge Castro with destruction of aircraft, and four individual counts of murder over the deaths of Armando Alejandre Jr, Carlos Alberto Costa, Mario Manuel de la Peña, and Pablo Morales.

“The United States, and President Trump, does not, and will not, forget its citizens,” Blanche said.

The justice department’s new charges take aim at a key figurehead of Cuba’s communist leadership when it is facing intense US pressure to make significant political and economic reforms to its one-party rule there.

“I think the strategy is to increase the pressure gradually to the point where the Cuban government will give in and surrender at the bargaining table,” said Wiliam LeoGrand, a expert on Latin American politics at American University.

The US has issued sanctions on the country and imposed a blockade on oil to Cuba that has resulted in blackouts and food shortages.

Earlier on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a message to the Cuban people timed to the country’s independence day.

“President Trump is offering a new path between the US and a new Cuba,” Rubio said.

Rubio told citizens of the island that a Cuban military-run conglomerate known as GAESA is primarily responsible for the blackouts and food shortages that the country continues to endure.

GAESA owns or operates most of the lucrative parts of the Cuban economy from the ports to the petrol pumps to 5-star hotels.

In response to Rubio’s message, Díaz-Canel accused the US of lying and imposing a collective punishment on the Cuban people. (BBC)

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