 Welcome to NTIA Nightly, I Am Genelle Norville, this edition's top stories. Government to forge ahead with the first phase of the National Health Insurance, the chief medical officer prepares the nation to coexist with COVID-19, and assessing remote learning as schools remain closed due to COVID-19. The fifth session of the 11th Parliament opened Tuesday 28th April 2020 in Castries with the delivery of the current speech by Governor-General, his Excellency Sir Emmanuel Neville Snack. However, due to COVID-19 protocols, the Governor-General presented the current speech via video. It was a stark reminder of the impact COVID-19 has had on all aspects of life, hair, and the wider world, and the current speech reflected as much. Given the importance of the healthcare system in the fight against COVID-19, and the critical need for all Saint Lucians to have access to quality care, Sir Neville announced that the Government of Saint Lucia is forging ahead with the first phase of the National Health Insurance. Legislation to define and effect the government's structure for the National Health Insurance will be enacted during this financial year 2020-2021. My government will tackle communicable diseases by improving health facilities and about capacity, and strengthening public health, surveillance, and emergency management capabilities. In this way, it will be possible to rapidly identify, control, and eventually eliminate re-emerging and emerging infectious diseases. And the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Economic Growth, Job Creation, External Affairs, and the Public Service, Hon. Alan Chastney will on Wednesday 29 April 2020 present Saint Lucia's estimate of revenue and expenditure for 2020-2021 at 10 a.m. The House of Assembly will be asked to adopt the report of the Standing Finance Committee on the Estimates of Expenditure for the Financial Year 2020-2021 in the sum of $1,697,312,800. The amount to be charged against the consolidated fund and other funds of the State of Saint Lucia. In keeping with the protocols established for management of the COVID-19, members of the public will not be allowed in the Chamber Gallery during the sitting. The public can view the live proceedings on the National Television Network NTN, Channel 122, Government of Saint Lucia Facebook page, and YouTube, as well as other local stations. The Ministry of Health and Wellness is still implementing the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic, notwithstanding the 100% recovery rate of COVID patients recorded here recently. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sharon Belmar George says the nation must remain focused and committed to the actions for reducing the spread of this virus. Dr. Belmar George says it is still difficult to accurately predict how the pandemic will progress for us in Saint Lucia. Given that with the gradual reopening of services, the risk of transmission is increased. However, the CMO says the reality is Saint Lucia cannot remain closed indefinitely. Our assumption is the likely scenario for the epidemic within our context shall be recurring waves with low-level transmission. This requires that the public work closely with us in maintaining the physical distancing measures at all times. The public must note that COVID-19 remains in all regions around us and given it is a new virus, our entire population is at risk of getting it at some point in time. As such, we need to learn to live safely in this COVID-19 environment. Dr. Belmar George emphasized that every single sector must prepare for the new way of operating by following the protocols established by the government of Saint Lucia. During the coming weeks, public health and primary health care teams will be providing information to support the populace as we all transition to co-existing with COVID-19. One such aspect includes the need to ensure our immune system is functioning at its best. This requires a balanced, healthy diet including the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables, drinking water throughout the day, regular exercise, adequate rest, sleep, and managing our stress level to keep it to a minimum. Also, the avoidance of smoking, drugs, and excessive alcohol intake, which are all detrimental to the body and limits our ability to properly manage illnesses. The CMO says periodically, additional public health and social measures may still need to be instituted to restrict and reduce movements based on the stage of the outbreak. The Saint Lucia Chamber of Commerce conducted a survey looking at the impact of COVID-19 on businesses among its membership. The survey was completed between April 6-15, 2020. Approximately 30% of the chamber membership responded. 52% of the respondents indicated that they were still operational amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Although not operational, 40% reported that it was due to the virus, while the balance 60% indicated that they were not operational due to the scale down of the economic activity. 33% of respondents employ more than 50 employees and overall 60% employ more than 20 persons. 67% of all respondents indicate that they have maintained full employment at this time. 65% indicate that full employment can only be maintained for one to two months. Of the firms who have retained employees, 67% of them indicated that the employees receive full pay. Respondents indicate that while full pay was paid in March, this will not be the case for April for many persons. Of the respondents, 33% who did not maintain full employment, 36% reported retaining between 1-25% of employees. 21% indicated that 26-50% was retained, while 36% reported retaining between 51-75% and the balance 7% reported retaining over 75%. 53% of respondents who indicated that they did not retain all staff reported that the staff who were not retained are getting paid or receiving in-kind contributions that is groceries and receiving 50% of pay. 38% of respondents report that they anticipate an over 75% decline in business as a result of the pandemic. 31% anticipate losses of between 26-50%. 19% expected declines of between 1-25% while 13% anticipate declines of between 51-75%. Understanding the major impact tourism has on the economy and on most businesses in St Lucia, either directly or indirectly, members were asked about the impact they expect the decline of tourism to have on the businesses described as a zero-tourism climate. In a zero-tourism climate, 39% of respondents believe that their business can only survive three to four months. 23% indicate that their business could last over six months. 19 indicated that they can last five to six months and 16% stated that they can last one to two months. Meantime, Chief Economist in the Ministry of Finance, Jenai Leos, says the financial strain that COVID-19 has brought to bear on the business community is not lost on the government as the government too is experiencing massive shortfalls in revenue. Speaking during an NTN panel discussion on the economic impact of COVID-19, the Chief Economist indicated that a number of proposals aimed at stabilizing the private sector are being finalized. In many countries, whether you look at the US, whether you look at Canada or what have you, what you saw happening was an injection of funds, whether it be by way of loan, whether it be by way of grant. We may have to explore the extent to which you have small, medium, large-scale businesses and you have similar loan-slash- grant facilities available to firm, to treat some of their working capital needs and what have you and we will definitely work with the international community and with the banking system to facilitate those sorts of injections. Now granted, given where the state is, the extent and the size of these would not be near what you have seen at the markets, but stabilizing your populace has been displaced by COVID and also assisting your firms in some meetings or their working capital needs and what have you, will definitely form key tenants of an economic stimulus going forward. Chief Economist in the Ministry of Finance, Students, teachers and parents have completed the first week of the new academic term remotely as schools remain closed amid COVID-19. Anissia Antoine reports. Students have begun settling into the third term as they are now in the second week of adapting to paper-based instruction and e-learning. Parents have entered a new reality managing the children's education from the confines of their home. District 2 Education Officer, Martha Foster, encouraged parents to be patient during this transition given that challenges may arise. Foster expressed gratitude to the principals, teachers and parents for their efforts in adjusting to this new environment for the benefit of the students. It speaks highly to your commitment to your craft and love for your students and for this, I am eternally grateful. Further, your flexibility and courage being demonstrated as you venture beyond the known and familiar are commendable because undoubtedly the extent to which our dearest students and parents ride this new wave, the level of comfort and ease with which they make this transition is highly dependent on you and your attitude. The District 2 Education Officer noted that a dedicated support system has been assigned for students in need of psychological support. An interactive platform has also been created to facilitate the interaction with school counselors. Patricia Gabriel Valcer, District 2 counselor, gave helpful tips to parents and students on ways to manoeuvre this new method of learning. For now, you are online learners. When you are in your online classroom, I want you to follow the rules as your teachers tell you. Be polite and respectful to your classmates and teachers. Make sure to do your assignments. Make time to read, rest and of course play. Now I would like to speak with your parents. Parents, it is a trying time. Take it one minute, one hour, one day at a time. Seek help with online challenges from other parents and the teacher. Ensure that your children are safe online. Limit the time online to class time and assignments. Let them play and sleep and ensure that they eat. Chief Education Officer Fiona Meyer stated that the main goal is to ensure that all students remain actively engaged in their studies in a healthy environment. We want you to really take time to listen to your child, to be with your child, to not put unnecessary pressure in terms of finishing up worksheets, but to really listen to them, support them, be consistent, do the work, get the feedback to the teachers. But really, really important is to find a spot where our students feel loved, they feel valued, they feel emotionally attached to their families. So this is the first point for our parents. This is what we want you to really embrace. We know many of our teachers have gone, and as I have said previously, they've inspired me. They have gone above and beyond, they are working and our parents meet me and they say to me, Mrs. Meyer, this is what has happened, this is the kind of feedback I've gotten from my teachers. So we want to say to them, our administrators, keep up the good work. We've only just began. So we don't want to start off with a bang and then slow down, but we want to make sure that whatever happens is consistent and that instruction remains our primary objective, which is what our responsibility is. The Chief Education Officer reaffirmed the Ministry of Education's commitment to ensuring principals, teachers and parents receive the necessary support to ensure the success of the students' education. From the Government Information Service, I am Anisia Antoine reporting. This is NTN Nightly, up next Primers-Hudginson with the NTN Nouvelle of Puyall. Wash them right. This message brought to you courtesy of the Bureau of Health Education of the Ministry of Health and Wellness. Welcome back. We join Primers-Hudginson for the NTN Nouvelle of Puyall. The Government examined the situation, and the public's commitment to support them in dealing with COVID-19. I am satisfied that the situation has been settled and that they will be able to provide the best possible support for the students. The Minister of Transportation said that the Government and the Ministry of Education are satisfied that the public's commitment to respecting the rules that the Government has adopted for COVID-19 is a consequence of the decisions I have made to allow the other passenger to buy nine passengers a day from the company that was made before. If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment at the bottom of the column. If you have any other questions, please leave a comment below. because because the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the Thank you, Apil Primus. That brings us to the end of NTA Nightly. Join us next time at 7pm with a repeat at 7am. You can also catch up with us anytime on the St. Lucia Government Facebook page or YouTube channel. I am Janelle Norvel.