 Welcome to NTN Nightly, I am Anicia Antoine, this edition's top stories. The Sufra Fire Station receives a shot in the arm with the procurement of an ambulance. Rehabilitation works for the conversion of the Victoria Hospital to a full-fledged respiratory hospital after progressing. And the National Youth Council's pledge for a child. The availability of the Sufra Fire Station to respond to emergencies has been greatly enhanced following the hand-in-over of an ambulance procured by the Government of St. Lucia. The Sufra Fire Service hosted an appreciation ceremony for the procurement of an ambulance by the Government of St. Lucia. The fire service has been working with a fleet of ambulances commissioned since 2007. The newly acquired ambulance is fully equipped with EMS equipment of a modern-day ambulance. The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs and the National Security, Elizabeth Bailey, explained that this new procurement will increase the response capacity of the fire department, especially in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that we are responding to COVID-19, I am sure the demand for emergency equipment and emergency response have increased. So I know that the fire service will put into good use. And I am happy that Sufra, after waiting for a number of years, finally have their new ambulance. I know that they will take good care of it and will help them in performing their duties more effectively. Minister for Home Affairs and National Security, Senator Hon. Gilles Francis noted that despite the harsh financial times, the Government recognized the importance of procuring this equipment. I think Sufra deserves those sorts of equipment because it has been developing at such a rapid pace that it has caused the Ministry of Home Affairs and National Security to buckle up. And so we have had to renovate this fire station. We have had to renovate the police station. And now we are giving you this fire ambulance. Now we know for a fact that we have been hit a big blow by COVID and you are the frontline personnel. And as the fire chief said, thank God that no fire officer has been afflicted with this sort of malady. I think this fire plant, this ambulance will assist you greatly. I just had a little peek in there and it is really state of the art. So I want to make sure that you keep it as in the pristine position and situation that it is in. Chief Fire Officer of the Sufra Fire Station, Joseph Joseph expressed gratitude to the Government of St. Lucia for the new ambulance. I also wish to thank our officers, our fire officers. In particular those persons who constantly respond to the EMS calls. Those who have to put their lives on the line to deal directly with positive cases. Because I think for all of the positive cases we have registered here, our fire officers have in one way or another interacted with them. And thankfully there has not been any contamination. So we are thankful for that. So let me thank our fire officers and every single one of them, not just our EMTs and EMS persons, but every single fire officer for the good effort that you make in the job, on the trying times. The appreciation ceremony for the procurement of a new ambulance by the Government of St. Lucia took place on Thursday, August 20th at the Sufra Fire Station. Rehabilitation works for the conversion of the Victoria Hospital to a full pledge respiratory hospital at Progress Inn. The Ministry of Health is working towards completion by the end of September 2020. The respiratory hospital will have a bed capacity of 100. More from Lisa Joseph. Since the transitioning of the Victoria Hospital, VH, to the Owen King EU Hospital on March 27, 2020, work has been ongoing in transforming the facility into a respiratory medical centre. Converting VH has come at a significant cost that was unforeseen, much like the novel coronavirus. Nevertheless, Health Minister Senator Hon. Mary Isaac says government is committed to completing the respiratory hospital as it plays a major role in the island's efforts at combating COVID-19. You know, we did not have a budget for that, so we had to find the funds within the budget of the Ministry of Health as well as funding from the Ministry of Finance. And it is coming along really, really very beautifully. The inside is almost done, you know, almost complete. Meticulous details have gone into the rehabilitation works with safety at the forefront. The Executive Director of the OKEU-VH, Nancy Francis, explains the scope of works. So we have on-ground our hospital engineer who's working very closely with Scali Construction, as well as the oversight committee from the World Bank. So on a daily basis, our project engineer will be in contact with Scali Construction so they can look at the logistics for the day. And from a management perspective, every single day we have a manager on-ground at the respiratory hospital to ensure that things are coordinated in the right way and we are able to respond to any emergencies that may arise. With the onset of COVID-19 planned by the Ministry of Health to utilize the Victoria Hospital as a polyclinic following the opening of the OKEU have been on pause. Well, it was supposed to be a polyclinic to replace the Shoseiro Health Center but for now we can only go as far as saying that it is going to be a respiratory hospital and because of all the money, all the funding that is going into transferring it into that facility I am not sure what we are going to do from there. Hopefully it probably will be in a better position, in a better place in a better situation for us to change it into a polyclinic but for now I am not sure I cannot say we do not have. We have not looked at that past COVID. Minister Isaac estimates that a respiratory hospital will be fully functional by the end of September. Five respiratory clinics have also been set up at the Grocery Polyclinic Leclery Wellness Center, the Dennery Hospital, the VA Four Wellness Center and the Souffre Hospital. The services at Dennery and the Souffre Hospitals and the Leclery and VA Four Wellness Centers are available daily Monday to Friday from 8am to 4pm. Grocery Polyclinic is available daily from 8am to 4pm including weekends. The St. Jude Hospital can also be accessed by persons with flu-like symptoms. From the Government Information Service, Lisa Joseph reporting. Meantime, St. Lucia is embarked to benefit from a major donation of PPEs through an international collaboration to sank in English Francis of Caricom News Time reports. The Caribbean community's response to COVID-19 got a major boost recently with a significant donation of medical supplies from the World Health Organization, the Jack Ma Foundation, Canada and the United Arab Emirates. The supplies include personal protection equipment, surgical masks and PCR test kits. All Caricom countries are benefiting from the donations that will reach their countries through the Regional Logistics Hub operated by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency. The World Food Program, its assistant Siddema, delivers supplies to six Caricom countries. Prime Minister Mia Amor-Mortley was instrumental in advocating for the assistance during her tenure as Chair of Caricom. In other COVID-related developments from the region, the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis says it is hoping to open its borders in October 2020 should the country continue to see low COVID-19 numbers. Harris-Michelle Nurse of Caricom News Time. Prime Minister Timothy Harris says the Ministry of Tourism will begin an expansive training program for persons in the tourism industry to acquire a St. Kitts and Nevis travel-approved seal. The seal will symbolize that those individuals are authorized to operate within the new environment as the Government takes steps to revitalize the economy to pre-COVID-19 levels. Caricom associate members, Anguilla and the Cayman Islands, are also delaying the opening of their borders to October 2020. Even though Anguilla has been COVID-19 free for the past 100 days, newly elected Premier Dr. Ellis Webster said the Government feels that the risk of allowing persons into the country from COVID-19 hotspots is greater than Anguilla's healthcare system can take. The Cayman Islands Government says the air bridge between the United Kingdom and the Cayman Islands will remain open as this provides a vitally important link between the two countries. Considering the dire consequences of the pandemic on household incomes, the National Youth Council NYC is playing its part by organizing a virtual telephone to provide educational assistance for at-risk students. This drive-dubbed pledge for a child will be aired on the National Television Network from the GIS Studios on Sunday, August 23, 2020, from 2pm to 6pm. The National Youth Council decided upon this fundraiser after consultations with the various district youth and sports councils. We're really looking to provide educational assistance to students, primarily those at the secondary school level, and we want to focus on about 20 Sa'afa Lewis students to provide them with scholarships for facilities fees and whatnot. So the educational assistance drive, it really came about because of COVID. We identified the social economic impacts of COVID-19 on students, primarily on the educational sector, and we think that a telephone is needed to provide assistance to those students who will not be able to meet that threshold, that group that is usually catered for. The public is encouraged to tune in to NTN on Sunday afternoon and make a donation toward the effort. It will be virtual primarily. We would have hosts in-house, but we would have individuals who would have sender, would be sending videos to our various artists and we'll have young persons performing, not just singing, they'll have dances and whatnot. You pledge via our bank account, which is at Bank of St. Lucia, and the number for the bank account is 101150355. For more information on this weekend's telethon, visit any one of the NYT social media handles. This is NTN Nightly. Up next, Primus Hutchinson with the NTN Novello Quay All. The Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment wishes to notify all clients of the Public Assistance Programme from Castries, Babuno, Grosile and Sousimilet regions that payment for the month of July has commenced. From Thursday, August 20th to Friday, August 21st, 2020, payments will be made at the various locations from 9 a.m. daily. For further information, please contact the Ministry at telephone number 468 5108 Castries or 454 6478 BF. Welcome back. We now join Primus Hutchinson for the NTN Novello Quay All. Ladies and gentlemen, the Ministry of Justice, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment wishes to notify all clients of the Public Assistance Programme from Castries, Babuno, Grosile and Sousimilet regions that payment for the month of July has commenced. For further information, please contact the Ministry at telephone number 468 5108 Castries or 454 6478 BF. The Ministry of Justice, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment wishes to notify all clients of the Public Assistance Programme from Castries, Babuno, Grosile and Sousimilet regions that payment for the month of July has commenced. For further information, please contact the Ministry at telephone number 468 5108 Castries or 454 6478 BF. The Ministry of Justice, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment wishes to notify all clients of the Public Assistance Programme from Castries, Babuno, Grosile and Sousimilet regions that payment for the month of July has commenced. For further information, please contact the Ministry at telephone number 468 5108 Castries or 454 6478 BF. The Ministry of Justice, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment wishes to notify all clients of the Public Assistance Programme from Castries, Babuno, Grosile and Sousimilet regions that payment for the month of July has commenced. For further information, please contact the Ministry at telephone number 468 5108 Castries or 454 6478 BF. The Ministry of Justice, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment wishes to notify all clients of the Public Assistance Programme from Castries, Babuno, Grosile and Sousimilet regions that payment for the month of July has commenced. For further information, please contact the Ministry at telephone number 468 5108 Castries or 454 6478 BF. The Ministry of Justice, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment wishes to notify all clients of the Public Assistance Programme from Castries, Babuno, Grosile and Sousimilet regions that payment for the month of July has commenced. For further information, please contact the Ministry at telephone number 468 5108 Castries or 454 6478 BF. The Ministry of Justice, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment wishes to notify all clients of the Public Assistance Programme from Castries, Babuno, Grosile and Sousimilet regions that payment for the month of July has commenced. For further information, please contact the Ministry at telephone number 468 5108 Castries or 454 6478 BF. The Ministry of Justice, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment wishes to notify all clients of the Public Assistance Programme from Castries, Babuno, Grosile and Sousimilet regions that payment for the month of July has commenced. For further information, please contact the Ministry at telephone number 468 5108 Castries or 454 6478 BF. The Ministry of Justice, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment wishes to notify all clients of the Public Assistance Programme from Castries, Babuno, Grosile and Sousimilet regions that payment for the month of July has commenced. For further information, please contact the Ministry at telephone number 468 5108 Castries or 454 6478 BF. The Ministry of Justice, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment wishes to notify all clients of the Public Assistance Programme from Castries, Babuno, Grosile and Sousimilet regions that payment for the month of July has commenced. For further information, please contact the Ministry at telephone number 468 5108 Castries or 454 6478 BF. The Ministry of Justice, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment wishes to notify all clients of the Public Assistance Programme from Castries, Babuno, Grosile and Sousimilet regions that payment for the month of July has commenced. For further information, please contact the Ministry at telephone number 468 5108 Castries or 454 6478 BF. The Ministry of Justice, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment wishes to notify all clients of the Public Assistance Programme from Castries, Babuno, Grosile and Sousimilet regions that payment for the month of July has commenced. For further information, please contact the Ministry at telephone number 468 5108 Castries or 454 6478 BF. The Ministry of Justice, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment wishes to notify all clients of the Public Assistance Programme from Castries, Babuno, Grosile and Sousimilet regions that payment for the month of July has commenced. For further information, please contact the Ministry at telephone number 468 5108 Castries or 454 6478 BF. The Ministry of Justice, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment wishes to notify all clients of the Public Assistance Programme from Castries, Babuno, Grosile and Sousimilet regions and Empowerment wishes to notify all clients of the Public Assistance Programme that payment for the month of July has commenced. For further information, please contact the Ministry at telephone number 468 5108 Castries or 454 6478 BF. The Ministry of Justice wishes to notify all clients of the Public Assistance Programme from Castries, Babuno, Grosile and Sousimilet regions that payment for the month of July has commenced. For further information, please contact the Ministry at telephone number 468 5107 Castries or 454 6478 BF. So, it is a pleasure to present the Minister of Health to you, the President of San Josef, who has been in the long, a long time and a long time and a long time and a long time. I also want to thank Dr. Glenn Sford Joseph, who has been a member of the State of the United States and the State of the United States for protecting the health of the country. we are going to continue to work on it. That brings us to the end of NTIA 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 Anicia Antoine.