 Welcome to NTN Nightly, I am Genelle Norville. This edition stops stories. Revised protocols for the management and containment of COVID-19 coming to effect December 1st, 2020. Special needs students and teachers receive digital learning devices. And St. Lucia celebrates another centenarian. The National Emergency Management Advisory Council, NIMAC, has revised the protocols for the management and containment of the community spread of COVID-19. A meeting of NIMAC was held Friday 27th November 2020, with stakeholders approving the revised measures as community cases continue to increase. As at the 27th November 2020, St. Lucia recorded a total of 246 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Of the total number of confirmed cases, 33 are imported and 213 are in country. The island has recorded two COVID-19 related deaths and currently has 135 active cases with a total of 109 recoveries. A total of 110 individuals are in isolation with another 365 in quarantine. Individuals ages 25 to 49 are most widely affected, with the age range accounting for 54% of the confirmed cases thus far. Dr. Sharon Belma George is the Chief Medical Officer. From what we are seeing, we have not yet peaked. We still notice an increase, although the rate of increase has reduced. In the beginning of the outbreak, our R0, that is our rate of transmission, was below zero. But as we progressed into October and November, we noted increases in our transmission rate, moving from 1.9 to 3.9 to 3.5. And we presently, in the last two weeks of November, we've noticed a transmission rate of 3. When we look a little bit closer over the last few weeks, we note that the steep trend that we saw in October, within the month of November, the rate of increase is less. So that is, it is beginning to plateau, that is the rate is less after the last two weeks in November. The Grozile district accounts for the largest distribution of cases, followed by castries, while laboratory leads having the highest incidence rate. Dr. Belma George urges the inclusions to adhere to all protocols, as non-compliance continues to put lives at risk. If an R, a transmission rate of 3, and having 127 active cases in country, it means that we are still in a very critical position and we are not in a position to yet relax the measures as we note that things are improving in country. There is a potential within the next 14 days of noting over a thousand cases, if we relax the measures or we continue to adhere to the protocols that have been recommended. From our forecasting, we predict that if we do not continue, if we don't adhere to the protocols, if we don't hold back, if we don't break the transmission rate, there is a possibility of more cases. Chief Medical Officer in the Department of Health and Wellness, Dr. Sharon Belma George. The revised protocols come into effect on Tuesday 1st December to Saturday 14th December. They include the continued recommendation to work from home where possible. Honourable Dominic Fadis, the Chairman of the COVID-19 Command Centre. We also have all business operations and commercial activities must end by 9 p.m. daily as guided by the COVID-19 Prevention and Control Act, Section 172B. And this basically sticks to closing all commercial activity by 9 p.m. to allow employees to get home by 10 p.m. Separate provisions, of course, will apply for necessary sectors such as the essential services, the construction, manufacturing and call centres, which we understand would have some very late work hours. We're trying our best as much as we can to create as little disruption to our economy as we attempt to strike the balance between the public health measures, but also to allow our economy to thrive. Recommendation number three includes restrictions on all social gatherings. We made one change here for churches. This particular slide would actually try to prohibit birthday parties, retirement parties, wedding receptions, funeral receptions, wakes, boat rides, beach picnics, et cetera. However, there are some exceptions that are made for the celebration including, if we can go to the next slide, Part B. There are some restrictions that are made for special religious rites including christenings, weddings, funerals will be limited to 25 individuals. So while, for example, in the case of a wedding, we're going to have the religious ceremony is not prohibited, neither is the christening nor the funeral service at the church level is allowed. It is prohibited for the social aspect, so the reception that comes with it. We're actually asking individuals to desist from that for the time being. The consumption of alcohol on premises remains prohibited. Stand-alone bars must close at 4 p.m. The takeaway or grab and go policy is in effect for bars until 4 p.m. Restaurants and food vendors will continue to provide takeaway services. And in the case of restaurants, we are allowing them to open until 9 o'clock as is the case for the times stipulated for all commercial activity to end. Recommendation decision number five rather restrictions on all sporting activity. This was a previous protocol, but we've made an adjustment here to allow for personal coaching and personal development to take place on a one-on-one basis. We have received a number of requests from national sporting associations for them to be able to allow for persons to receive the level of development that's necessary, especially national athletes. And we want to ensure that we don't endanger the level of performance or the success rate of our national sporting teams. Recommendation decision number six, special permission for face-to-face evaluations in those parts of the education system where students may have special examination preparations. We don't want to, for example, at the secondary school level endanger the performances of our students at the CXC examinations, nor at the primary school level where students are going to be preparing for common entrance in the coming months. So we want to ensure that we give all of our students the best chance to succeed. So we're allowing a limited amount of face-to-face tuition to take place in these cases. We also have made allowance for tertiary level schools in medical and natural science programs that may require the students to go into labs and to do practical evaluations. And so there will be a blend of face-to-face tuition and also virtually in order to allow for our students to be able to excel at their common entrance examinations. The Royal St. Lucia Police Force meantime remains committed to ensuring compliance with the laws of St. Lucia and all stipulated protocols in country to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The RSLPF on Friday 27 November 2020 intercepted two vessels attempting to enter the country illegally. These vessels were subsequently impounded. Deputy Commissioner of Police Milton Daisy is urging individuals to discontinue the practice and is calling on members of the public to report any illegal entrance to the country. To separate joint operations that is with the Marine Unit and territorial police, land police, we were able to intercept in these two instances two vessels coming in from MAPNIC. Those vessels, the persons in each instance, we had four persons on board. Those persons in both instances were arrested. The DCP noted that there have been several breaches in the law and the protocols. He explained that in instances where a number of warnings had been issued, the businesses were shut down and individuals were arrested. There have been instances where at least 15 persons have been found in bars that are closed from the front. But the back door is either halfway opened or persons are inside carrying out activities. Now you realize that as part of the protocol, bars were only supposed to have been opened up to 4 p.m. daily and bars with grocery shops or restaurants and so on had to be, the closure time was 9 p.m. We have had instances where at 11.45 almost midnight police have to be closing bars. The police force will be employing protocol enforcement officers to assist in ensuring compliance. to the COVID-19 protocols. The force received over 500 applications and on Friday had selected the final cut. These individuals are scheduled to commence training next week. Following which they would begin their duties for other various districts under the supervision of a senior police officer. You would appreciate that to have persons new coming into the job that they would need some briefings, they would need some training in terms of writing reports that is writing station diaries, the mode of patrol and so on. During the initial training which we are expecting to be at least a week the officers would be paired with senior officers during patrol so that they would be acquainted with patrol procedures, what is required of them and so on. After which the officers would be good to be on the road performing their duties. Deputy Commissioner of Police Milton Daisy. In other developments, 130 special education needs learners across the island who lack access to technological assistive devices to effectively participate in online learning and to receive those devices through the Department of Education, Innovation and Gender Relations under the Education Quality Improvement Project. Irma DeMark has the details. The Ministry of Education is continuing efforts to improve the online learning experience for students and educators in St. Lucia. The Ministry has procured 130 learning devices which will be distributed to special needs students across the island to assist in education efforts as they transition to an online learning platform. This procurement was facilitated through the Education Quality Improvement Project Equip and was co-funded by the Caribbean Development Bank, CDB. Marie Grace Oguise is the coordinator for the Equip project. Earlier this year, the CDB saw it fitting that the Ministries of Education of borrowing member countries should be able to utilize funds already approved by the CDB itself to enable these countries to meet what are called eligible expenditure for interventions which have to be implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is why the project coordinating unit was directed by the administration of the Department of Education, that's the PSSF, to provide within this year some level of educational support for special education to transition to the online modality. The Chief Education Officer Dr Fiona Filipe Maiaf addressing the handing over ceremony thanked the contributors for this donation and expressed her elation with the allotment of the learning devices to special education. So this is an opportunity to say thank you to Equip, thank you to the Caribbean Development Bank. We know that individuals make the difference, so somebody went out there to get us necessary resources and so there's a special responsibility that we must always take very seriously as leaders in the sector. Let the resources add value to the lives of our children. Let it not be a play toy, it's not a toy, it's an educational resource that can help a child who has particular difficulties get over those. The project coordinating unit directed by the administration of the Department of Education will continue the procurement of assistive learning devices to the special education sector into next year. From the Government Information Service, Homedi Mok reporting. Meanwhile, Caricum Ministers for Education have approved measures to tackle COVID-19 challenges to the sector at the special 25th meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development. Kendall Morgan of Caricum News Time reports. The ministers received a presentation by CXZ registrar Dr Wayne Wesley with recommendations on managing the registration, scheduling, administration and release of their exams going forward. The ministers have reviewed quality assurance and logistical challenges in the recent administration of CXZ results and the implications for exam integrity and administrative agility. The meeting received an accepted recommendation from the Caricum secretariat for the establishment of a digital skills task force to help lead a push during the current COVID-19 pandemic for accelerated skills development through digital and online learning. The ministers also renewed their commitment to the strategic pillars of the Caricum Human Resource Development 2030 strategy which they felt have gained greater resonance since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. They agreed to strengthen teacher preparation to facilitate mastery in the use of technology and to provide increased support to the early childhood education and technical and vocational education and training Tibet sectors. The meeting was chaired by the Bahamas Education Minister Mr Jeffrey Lloyd who was joined in presenting opening remarks by Guyana's Minister of Education Ms Priya Manakchand and Caricum Secretary-General Ambassador Erwin Larok. Kendall Morgan of Caricum News Time, ending that report. Three communities throughout St. Lucia receive weather stations under the Seven Crops Project. Harris Anise Antoine with more. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Physical Planning, Natural Resources and Cooperatives in collaboration with the Taiwan Technical Mission in St Lucia through the Seven Crops Project have established three weather stations in the communities of Babono, Denry and Shwazel. The data being provided by the weather stations will assist farmers in making more informed decisions on the cultivation of the crops and minimise loss due to changing conditions. Parliamentary representative of Shwazel Saltibus, Honourable Bradley Felix highlighted the importance of procuring modernised equipment to ensure the sustainability of the agriculture industry in St Lucia. I'm hoping that we take advantage of the predictions and the readings from the weather station so that we could make very sound decisions and not because your neighbour is planting tomatoes or potatoes that you decide to do the same thing, that we can vary what we grow and we can do it with the knowledge and the science behind it. So I am looking forward to a significant increase in production in the quality based on the readings that we will be getting from the weather station and I want to take the opportunity to thank the government and the people of Taiwan for their continuous assistance. Ambassador of the Republic of China, Taiwan to St Lucia, His Excellency Peter Chen, reaffirms his government's commitment to assist in ensuring a more resilient agriculture sector in St Lucia. The weather station before us is able to collect all sorts of data, rainfall, light intensity, wind speed and humidity. It's solar powered and can be remotely accessed by the internet. This is what new agriculture looks like. I have four confidence that this weather station are one of the important steps to achieving agriculture 4.0. We are honoured to work with St Lucia, a strong ally and with support from their partners like the United States on mutually beneficial goals with such meaningful impact. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Physical Planning, Natural Resources and Cooperatives encourages farmers to take full advantage of the new technology received when planning their production cycles. From the information unit of the Department of Agriculture, I am Manicia Antoine reporting. This is NTN Nightly. Please stay with us. In an effort to ensure patient and first responder safety, the St Lucia Fire Service has reviewed its patient transfer procedures especially for patients with respiratory distress. Face masks will be provided. At no time during transportation should the face mask be removed. Please be patient and cooperative during this time to ensure you receive the best possible care while keeping our first responders safe. Welcome back. St Lucia is celebrating another centenarian, Mary Michelle, also known as Multi Boy of Belfast Souffre, born on the 24th November 1920. At the age of 6 after the death of her mother, Miss Michelle lived with her maternal aunt. She married Mr. Pierre Joseph Michelle, also known as Edwin Michelle, at the age of 27 and bought 13 children, four of whom have since died. Miss Michelle devoted her life to being a homemaker and a caregiver to her children. Occasionally, she would vend the excess fruit and vegetables which grew on her husband's farm. Currently, Miss Michelle has challenges with both her vision and her hearing, and she is no longer ambulant. She is therefore fully dependent on others for her care. However, one thing which has remained fully intact is her jovial nature and her love of a good adult conversation, Pawel Guamun, family and friends gathered to celebrate her life and milestone. Today, we reflect on the celebration of life of our sister, Mary, and not many persons who lived to see a hundred years. You know, scripture says, 80, the lifespan is 70, and 80 for those who are strong. So, Mary Dwee Boy and Shai Souffre, born Belfast, a trip Belfast, yes. You know, so we have reason to celebrate. And, you know, I often say to people that we need to learn how to celebrate each other. You know, sometimes you have families and there's so much confusion in families that they do not have the time to appreciate each other and celebrate each other. You know, it's not like that, but that time it is too late. Living to a hundred is a blessing and we are thrilled to say the least to celebrate the blessing we have in Mama. What a privilege to have you here today with us. What a treat to be with you and what a joy to be loved by you. Happy 100th birthday, Mama. It is indeed a pleasure to be here, to celebrate that milestone with her. Mama, we all love you. Thank you for having us. On behalf of the government and people of St. Lucia, the Elder Care Unit of the Division of Human Services has extended birthday greetings and the best of chair to Miss Michelle on the occasion of her 100th birthday. That brings us to the end of NTN 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 Channel Norvel.