 Welcome to NTN Nightly, I am Jenelle Norville, this edition's top stories. Government launches the income support program for non-NIC contributors, the National Emergency Management Organization to implement new protocols for hurricane season due to COVID-19, and nurses receive tangible support from the Make It Happen Foundation. The Government of St. Lucia continues to provide relief for citizens who have been adversely affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An income support program for non-NIC contributors has been implemented and will be managed by the ministries of finance and tourism collaboratively. Prime Minister the Honourable Alan Shasne had announced in the social stabilisation plan provisions for helping those who have lost their means of earning a living because of the COVID-19 crisis and are not registered contributors to the National Insurance Fund. As part of Government's social stabilisation plan to assist persons who have lost their means of earning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of St. Lucia has implemented the income support program where non-contributors to the NIC shall receive a monthly payment of $500 for the next three months. Taxi drivers, jet ski operators, vendors, agro processors, tour guides, hairdressers, barbers, small bar and restaurant operators, construction workers and other sole traders who meet the criteria can apply using the Government of St. Lucia's website www.govt.lc. Payments will be made directly via electronic transfer to the recipient's bank account. The income support program simple strides towards recovery. The Ministry of Tourism will be the executing agency for the program and responsible for receiving applications, reviewing and verifying the applications and presenting the approved list to the NIC for processing and payment. This initiative is part of ongoing efforts by the Government to assist affected conclusions at this time. The Government has also launched a national feeding program and is providing tax incentives for businesses that continue to function and keep employees during this crisis. As the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season fast approaches on June 1st, the National Emergency Management Organization is finalizing new protocols due to COVID-19. Harris Anise Antoine With the hurricane season fast approaching, the public is being urged to be in a state of constant preparedness. Officials from the Meteorological Services and the National Emergency Management Organization, NIMO, who recently appeared on the national television network NTN, where they disclosed that the hurricane season every year is forecast to be more active with more intense hurricanes than the previous. Director of the Meteorological Services, André Joyeux, explained that evidence indicates more severe droughts and hurricanes for the Atlantic region going forward. All the scientific evidence is pointing to that. We have a number of institutions that give us the predictions for the year and it's not encouraging. We have institutions like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They just put out the 2020 predictions. They did that on the 21st and they're going for, it's a range that they're going for. It's between 13 and 19 named storms, 6 to 10 hurricanes and 3 to 6 major hurricanes. Now I should say that the average for the year is 12 named storms, 6 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes. So everything would be stepped up. Director of NIMO, Dorin Gustave, said with the country already battling the COVID-19 pandemic, its resources are stretched thin, therefore the public should not let its guard down. The director noted that preparations for the hurricane season had long commenced, including training and strengthening district disaster committees. However, with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, new protocols had to be drawn up so as to adhere to the protocols stipulated by the Ministry of Health and Wellness. We are discussing shelters, so they have started looking at the inspection of shelters. We've started, we've done more than 50% of that and we have to take into consideration COVID-19 and shelters, whereas a shelter would be able to accommodate, let's say 100 persons. Taken into consideration social distancing, we had to look at more than one shelter per community. So we are looking at maybe private shelters. This is what we are thinking. There is a need for that in order to accommodate based on the impact. And so we had to put protocols in place. We just completed protocols for shelters. Ministry of Education was on board, Ministry of Health was on board. The Shelter's Committee was on board NIMO and we discussed what is needed and it's going to take a huge amount from our finances that we already have depleted. NIMO has also commenced engagement with the public service so as to implement business continuity plans in case of an emergency as realized with COVID-19. A training workshop will be held through the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, SIDIMA on the 4th of June so as to address situational awareness geared towards all relevant stakeholders. NIMO has also gotten approval from the World Bank to procure equipment for the Emergency Operational Centre aimed at improving communication including getting more reliable networks, obtaining and installing VHF radios on the island and distributing handheld radios at strategic locations as well as procuring research and rescue drones. From the Government Information Service, I am Anisia Antoine reporting. Meantime, the Deputy Director for Financial Administration in the Department of Finance concedes that COVID-19 has taught many lessons for disaster preparedness and disaster risk financing as government strategizes for greater financial stability in the event of a natural disaster during the upcoming hurricane season. Glenn Simon has more. Though the health and economic impact of COVID-19 has dominated discussions on mainstream and social media, the Government of St. Lucia has been planning for the upcoming hurricane season which officially commences on June 1. Government, under its Disaster Risk Financing Policy has increased St. Lucia's coverage with the Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility, CRF. Deputy Director of Financial Administration in the Department of Finance, Matthew Branford said government has ensured its disaster risk policy has been updated in keeping with a projected active hurricane season. We've actually increased our coverage because based on the various models for this year they have increased intensity for the hurricane season and so we have actually been very cautious and have expanded our coverage. So we've actually transferred more risk to CRF so that it can alleviate any fiscal pressures in the initial stage in the aftermath of a disaster. Branford noted that St. Lucia has been a member of CRF from its inception in 2007 and has participated in the many disaster risk financing products offered by CRF which includes Tropical Cyclone, Excess Rainfall and Earthquake Policies. In 2019, the CRF introduced what is called COS and this product is specifically to assist in disaster risk financing for persons in the fishery sector. The Deputy Director of Financial Administration highlighted that one of the main concerns of government post a disaster is access to finance. This, he said, is one of the significant benefits of CRF's policies. So CRF actually pays out within 14 days coverage to the Caribbean countries including St. Lucia and we have benefited quite a lot from being a member of CRF in the Caribbean. Branford added that CRF is but one of the many disaster risk financing strategies employed by government to reduce its exposure post a disaster. He further called on citizens and the corporate sector to ensure their property and belongings ahead of the hurricane season. It is always good that private individuals do try to secure their properties, their homes and their personal belongings in the aftermath of a disaster because CRF, the policy that CRF offers to us is more of a capital structure and rebuilding and so on. It's not going to be filtered in right down to the very local level in the house. Government is also exploring risk financing which takes into account health-related disasters such as COVID-19 including disasters which could affect vital sectors such as water and electricity. The World Bank is among other agencies providing technical assistance and financing to St. Lucia in an effort to build resilience as it relates to disaster risk management. For the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council, Glenn Simon reporting. A sitting of the House of Assembly is scheduled for Tuesday, May 26, 2020 with papers to be laid by the Honourable Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Economic Growth, Job Creation, External Affairs and the Public Service, the Honourable Minister for Economic Development, Housing, Urban Renewal, Transport and Civil Aviation, the Honourable Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Physical Planning, Natural Resources and Cooperatives and the Honourable Minister for Commerce, Industry, Enterprise Development and Consumer Affairs. The Parliament will also consider to further extend for an additional period commencing from the first day of June 2020 and ending the 30th of September 2020, the resolution of Parliament approving the Declaration of State of Emergency. Tuesday's sitting is scheduled to commence at 10 a.m. A sitting of the House of Assembly is also scheduled for Wednesday, May 27, 2020 at 10 a.m. The sitting of the Senate is scheduled for Thursday, May 28, 2020 at 10 a.m. In keeping with the protocols established by the authorities for management of COVID-19, the public will not be allowed in the chamber gallery during the sittings. The public can view the live proceedings on the National Television Network NTN Channel 122, Government of St. Lucia Facebook and YouTube. The St. Lucia Blind Welfare Association has been hard hit by the challenges of COVID-19, however the organisation is ensuring that its members are not unduly affected. More in this report. In the current situation of the global health crisis due to COVID-19, the operations of non-governmental organisations such as the St. Lucia Blind Welfare Association have been significantly impacted. Anthony Avril, Executive Director of the St. Lucia Blind Welfare Association, spoke on some of the difficulties being faced by the association during this period. The two main streams of revenue for the St. Lucia Blind Welfare Association. One depends on funds received for projects through grants, donations and no technical support for the various things that we are doing. Whether it comes from government, from funding agencies, from corporate communities, from individuals, these are the ways that monies come into the St. Lucia Blind Welfare Association. And the second stream to that is through the eye clinic, which generates some as well. The island was thrown into emergency mode around the middle of March and that certainly stopped everything. People are not working, they are not in a position to donate. And what has happened is that the COVID-19 has not only attacked St. Lucia, COVID-19 has declared war on the world. With the effort to bring comfort and meet the needs of the more vulnerable members, the association has been reaching out to their members using the mapping project to assist their needs during this period. The mapping project entails a database of the blind and low-visioned individuals, including their name and address, their skills and their needs. Rosemary Compton, Outreach Officer at the St. Lucia Blind Welfare Association, gave insight as to the condition of the members of the association. I would like to say that it's really an interesting time and a challenging time for a lot of our clients as I reach out to them but it's not possible to go into their homes in one of the cases maybe and from a distance, but then most of the persons that have been in contact with us through the telephone and they are very responsive and they would express their needs. Of course, a lot of them, normally, they are not able to meet their basic needs and especially at a time like this when people could not have moved around and so on, they found it a little challenging and that's why we were happy when we got some assistance from the Red Cross through Nemo to give some care packages to some of our clients and then prior to that, there were clients that we were not really aware of but because of this emphasis on mapping and reaching people around the island, we were not able to reach out to more people and to know what their needs are and so on. As of April 31, 2020, approximately 225 blind and low-visioned individuals have been registered with the mapping project. From the Government Information Service, I am Anitia Antoine reporting. St Lucia's nurses have received support from the Make It Happen Foundation as the organization continues to champion the cause of frontline workers. A substantial financial contribution to the St Lucia Nurses Association stems from the proceeds of the sold-out All Pink International Women's Day event, Tea and Testimony, which was held on March 8, 2020. In a handing over ceremony on Thursday, May 21, 2020, a check of $22,500 was officially presented to the President of the St Lucia Nurses Association, Alicia Baptiste, by Make It Happen founder, Mrs. Raquel Doubley-Shasny. And this is NTIA Nightly Up Next, Primus Hutchinson with the NTIA Nouvelle of We All. Be aware of and follow water conservation practices. Here are a few tips to help you save water. Wash dishes in a basin of water instead of a running tap. Soak pots and pans instead of letting the water run while scraping them. Check toilets for leaks by putting dye in the tank. If color shows in the bowl without flushing, there is a leak. Leaking toilet can waste thousands of gallons of water. Use a bucket instead of a hose to wash cars and reuse grey water from laundry to water plants. Water conservation reduces energy consumption and strain on the water distribution system. Conserve water whenever possible, and remember, every job counts. A message brought to you by the Water and Sewage Company Incorporated, Wasco. Welcome back. We join Primus Hutchinson for the NTIA Nouvelle of We All. My name is Ota Genel. I am the Secretary of State of the United States of America for information on the NTIA Nouvelle of We All. I am from the National Television Agency for NTIA Nouvelle of We All. I am from Primus Hutchinson. I have established the O-N-KING hospital for a public hearing that comes to place to clarify and explain the different situations that public hearing has in general. It comes to pay my service and also to place people who are sick in the hospital. This results in the pleasure of the public hearing. For this reason, the management of the O-N-KING hospital and the public hearing in general is an arrangement that is operational for the present. All the operations of the emergency that is done immediately are patients who are in the hospital after that. As I mentioned before, any patient is in the hospital after the discharge of the emergency service, a person who is sick after the discharge, a person who is sick after the discharge, a person whose health is fully recovered immigration by the Obama Administration cannot be sent directly to the obstetrics for gynaecology, a person whose maternity had been sent directly to the healthcare office for the hospital. All the patients are in obstetrics, Ecology, Abbey Award, Maternity, Cytuvé, Bill L'Opitalio, and Puyotuvé Discharge. First, consultation, Lay-on, and Tuiya Casualty, where I stay at the same place as the $10,000 that the entire municipality pays. First, the application for a service that is on Tuvé and Casualty is actually presented to the personal L'Opitalio for the provision of the service that you receive. For the service that your client receives at the hospital, you can receive $20,000 from the patients. Everyone who is on the way is on the pension and the DVD that you receive is $60,000 from Nippu Pé for the service at the hospital, or in King. The first is the document, Hot Plaster, by NIC. The DVD that you receive is $26,000 from Nippu Pé for the service that you will find at the company that she works in. The second is the Ministry of Health at Egality透社 to support public highlighted by the history. The company is designed to help that public sector education in the same way that we implement protocols and measures to ensure that the students who find restrictions are safe. But is there a reality that the school is supposed to be made to deal with the head of education, Dr. Fiona Meyer, as well as the head of medical officers, Dr. Sharon Belma George, and the head of education, to discuss reality According to Dr. Meyer, the situation is very difficult, especially for parents and children. Dr. Meyer has seen that he understands and appreciates the sacrifice I have made, the efforts I have made, but he wants the parents to understand that he has not listened to the first students who have entered the study. He has also finished Form 5. With us, I spoke with Madam CMO, Dr. Sharon Belma George, and I said to ourselves, as soon as possible, it is possible for us to support this mother who lives in the school. So we look at these mothers, we do not look at all mothers, we do not look at Plipiti, just like the mother, but we look at Grade 6, the mother who took the exam, with Grade 6, which is in Form 5, which is finished, which is secondary, so that the school can go to different places. The whole school has to go to these children. So we appreciate that. But we want all the parents who listen to us, we do nothing to put the children in a bad situation in the school. According to Dr. Meyer, the head of medical officers, Dr. CMO, who continuously discusses because that is the case for these students, in Grade 6, in the 16th form, we look at the education at Magé. We look at the teachers, we look at the mothers' friends, we look at the mother's friends, we look at the mother's 오케이, we look at the mother's The school is on the other side of the street. They are all young people. First, they teach us how to work. And then they teach us how to work. And then they teach us how to take care of our children. I want to talk about my mother who was a transporter to come to school. My mother who was a transporter to eat. We are in a situation that is very powerful. When we go to school, we never give all these people to school. We never give them to us. We give them to our mother who was a transporter to come to school. Ministers of Agriculture, my name is Ezekiel Joseph. I continue to be called by the farmers to do good quality food. I want to discuss with you the Minister of Agriculture to make sure that the government is able to provide a good quality food for the country and the nation. We have to continue to do good quality food. Ministers, I want to talk about my mother who was a transporter to come to school to take care of our children because we are in a situation where we are not good quality. But Ezekiel, I want to talk about the farmers to do good quality food. I continue to do good quality food. I want to encourage farmers to do good quality food. But I want to mix with the other. Wisconsubility for good quality. Wisconsubility farmers. It is not a wisconsubility for the government. So, you have to do good quality food. That's why I want to talk about my mother. Hello, Minister of Agriculture. Every country has to produce good quality food for the country and the nation. Ministers, I want to talk about my mother. I want to talk about my mother. I want to talk about my mother. I want to talk about my mother who was a transporter to come to school. So, let me talk about how these people are going to do good quality food and how we can make it good quality food. They have to pay 50 cents or 25 cents to pay the whole thing. It's not an economic slur. So this is an opportunity to sell by farmers. Farmers near West Coast Ability. They have to sell everything. The quality is good. If you don't have the money, you can't buy anything. You can't buy anything. So you don't have to expect to buy anything, if you don't have any problems. Thank you very much. Thank you very much for your time. I have a lot of invitations. I would like to see you again when I have time. I will be back with more news. See you later. See you later. I am Janelle Norville.