Month: July 2020

Cuba lauded for its quick pandemic response

Island manages to keep figures low within its borders

An early response to the pandemic and a strong healthcare system enabled Cuba to curb the highly contagious virus quickly and more effectively than its neighboring Caribbean countries.

In a New Scientist report, experts praised the island nation’s response to the disease, with the country even managing to deploy its teams of doctors across the globe to help countries treat their overwhelming numbers of coronavirus patients.

There have been 2,361 confirmed individuals infected with COVID-19 in Cuba since its first case in March, including 86 deaths. This is according to the latest tally of Johns Hopkins University and Medicine. These figures are surprisingly impressive, considering Cuba’s gentrification. Cuba’s population is one of the oldest in the Americas.

Moreover, Cuba is no stranger to infamously long queues for state-provided goods, which make social distancing and self-isolation difficult.

In spite of its strong medical force, the 11.3 million island nation “suffers from scarcities and material shortages that are characteristic of the Cuban economy as a whole”.

Yet, “a really strong primary healthcare system has been a major player in controlling the outbreak,” said Alcimar Perez-Riverol at São Paulo State University.

Cuba has the highest doctor-per-patient ratio in the world, with 8.19 doctors per 1000 individuals. By comparison, Brazil has 2.15, and the US 2.6.

The government should also be credited for acting early, Perez-Riverol added. “They were preparing the whole system for diagnostics two months before the first case was detected,” he said.

Even before the first reported case, Cuba’s government has carried out a diligent door-to-door system to inform the public about the novel coronavirus, as well as conduct an efficient contact tracing with its teams of doctors, nurses and medical students. Cuba then sent these suspected COVID-19 cases to state-run isolation centres right away and traced all their recent contacts.

The post Cuba lauded for its quick pandemic response appeared first on Caribbean News Now!.

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Major Airlines Return to The Bahamas

 

The Bahamas is open for tourism, and major air carriers have officially returned to the destination. 

Southwest Airlines kicked off the return with the resumption of daily flights from Baltimore to Nassau on July 1. 

On July 2, New York City-based carrier JetBlue Airways relaunched a pair of routes to The Bahamas, its first service since the beginning of the pandemic. 

JetBlue’s Bahamas relaunch included flights from both New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to The Bahamas. 

Both routes, which are operating daily, are serving Nassau’s Lynden Pindling International Airport. 

bahamas ocean club
The Bahamas’ iconic Ocean Club resort is open again on Paradise Island.

It’s part of a broader return of flights service to The Bahamas, with Delta have relaunched its flights from Atlanta to Nassau with twice-daily service and Southwest’s relaunch of flights from Baltimore to Nassau earlier this week. 

On July 7, American Airlines resumes twice-daily flights from Miami to Nassau and Charlotte to Nassau; along with service from Miami to both Exuma and Eleuthera. 

United Airlines is also returning to The Bahamas: on July 6, the airline will relaunch flights from both Houston and Newark to Nassau, while Denver-Nassau flights will resume on July 11. 

bahamas airlines return
The Warwick Paradise Island in The Bahamas is open.

Of course, some of most beloved small airlines that serve The Bahamas, including Makers Air and Tropic Ocean Airways, have also relaunched operations.

The Bahamas, which officially reopened for tourism on July 1, is requiring that travelers who arrive after July 7 present proof of a negative COVID-19 test that is no more than seven days old, while presenting an Electronic Health Visa application. 

 For more, visit The Bahamas. 

— CJ

The post Major Airlines Return to The Bahamas appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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5.5-Magnitude Earthquake Causes Shaking Across Puerto Rico

 

A 5.5-magnitude earthquake caused shaking across Puerto Rico on Friday afternoon. 

The quake’s epicenter was off the far southwestern coast of Puerto Rico, about 6.4 miles southwest of Guanica, according to the United States Geological Survey. 

It struck at a depth of 10 kilometers. 

The quake caused varying degrees of shaking, from light to moderate, across the island. 

It was even felt in parts of the Dominican Republic to the west. 

There were not yet any reports of damage or injuries resulting from the quake. 

Puerto Rico was rattled by a series of earthquakes at the end of 2019 and in early 2020, causing significant damage to parts of the island. 

The Caribbean is a seismically active region. 

— CJ

The post 5.5-Magnitude Earthquake Causes Shaking Across Puerto Rico appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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Meet Puerto Rico’s Queer and Trans Change-Makers

… island, despite a myth many Puerto Ricans believe, which maintains that, because … her own apartment to LGBTQIA+ Puerto Ricans seeking community and safety in … idiosyncratic interpretation.
“I think [Puerto Rico‘s current ballroom culture …

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EIN PR news, Island Life

Jamaica first in the Caribbean to submit a tougher climate action plan

Cop26 prexy praises nation for quick response

No coronavirus pandemic has stopped Jamaica in preparing, and now eventually, submitting a tougher climate action plan under the Paris Agreement.

In a press release, the government of Jamaica announced that the country’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) has already been uploaded to the NDC Registry of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The next UN climate summit was moved to November 2021 due to the pandemic. The United Kingdom, the host for next year, praised the move and urged other nations to follow suit as quickly as possible.

“Fantastic to see Jamaica’s NDC showing greater climate ambition and scope during these difficult times,” said Alok Sharma in a tweet. Sharma is the president of the COP26 talks and UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. “We ask all countries to publish their own ambitious NDCs as soon as possible,” he added.

According to the NDC Registry, Jamaica is the 13th nation globally to submit this year an updated plan for the five-year milestone of the 2015 Paris Agreement. The first country was Lebanon, which submitted its plan in February.

Steps to curb climate change

Jamaica, which finally opened its borders for international travel last June 15, promised to focus on two key sectors—Energy and Forestry—to reduce its carbon footprint.

“Jamaica’s new NDC is more ambitious than its previous one,” the Jamaican government said in a separate news report, adding that the island needs to be more vigilant with its steps since it’s more prone to hurricanes and sea level rise. There has also been mild drought across much of the island.

According to the government report, Jamaica promises that by 2030, the country will be able to reduce emissions in the two sectors by 25.4% which below “business as usual” (BAU) levels, and by a deeper 28.5% if the country gets international support.

The emissions meanwhile, are expected to fall from 1.8 to 2.0 million tonnes of carbon dioxide also by 2030. That was more ambitious than a decline of 1.1 to 1.5 million tonnes under the original plan.

The post Jamaica first in the Caribbean to submit a tougher climate action plan appeared first on Caribbean News Now!.

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