 Welcome to India Nightly, I'm Hermitie Mark. This edition stops stories. Saint Lucia's management of COVID-19 registered a major success as government increases their response budget. Saint Lucia's private sector partners with government in relief efforts for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. And the disaster vulnerability reduction project has again served the island well. Saint Lucia's management of COVID-19 registered a major success this week for the first time since the third wave of the virus, the island registered zero new cases and the lowest number of active cases. On Tuesday, April 20, 2021, the Ministry of Health and Wellness reported no new cases of COVID-19 from a batch of 119 samples taken during the period April 17, 2021 to April 19, 2021. These samples were processed on April 19, 2021. The Ministry of Health also received confirmation of the recovery of five individuals diagnosed with COVID-19, bringing the total number of active cases in country to date to 80. Meantime, Health Minister Senator Hon. Mary Isaac says government continues to provide necessary resources to the national fight against the pandemic. Hon. Isaac was at the time addressing the Senate sitting on the 2021-2022 appropriation bill. Since March 2021, $10 million was added to the budget for the COVID-19 response. This will be used, Madam President, to augment the budget to cover outstanding payments for quarantine, for respiratory hospital civil works, the rehabilitation of castries wellness center among other activities. Madam President, the government of Saint Lucia has also sourced 13 million euros to assist with the COVID response, which will include the setting up of two isolation units, one in the north and one in the south of the island, as well as improving the physical capacity of the Ezra Long Laboratory by a buildout for BloodBunk and Surology Departments. This source of funding will also include the rehabilitation of the extra warehouse space for central procurement, thereby increasing the capacity for storage of personal protective equipment and pharmaceuticals. The complete proposed project activities, Madam President, totals $46.1 million. Several capital projects are also being undertaken in a bid to strengthen the healthcare system. Emergency response for COVID-19, the budget is $31.1 million. And that funding is coming from old bank and the development policy credit. Health system strengthening project, Madam President, that's a budget of $8.8 million and that again is funded by World Bank IDA. The OECS Regional Health Project with a budget of $2.67 million, funded by World Bank. The New National Hospital Commission in the budget, $12,985,000. Construction of Denry Poly Clinic with a budget of $18 million, funded by World Bank. Construction of Miku Wellness Center with a budget of $1.2 million, that's U.S., Madam President. $3.2 million E.C., funded by World Bank. Rehabilitation of Souffre Hospital, $5.6 million, again funded by World Bank. We have the World Bank Health System Strengthening Project at $20 million, over a four-year period. Electrical works were carried out at the Souffre Hospital costing $147,000. St. Lucia's relief efforts for St. Vincent's and the Grenadines is continuing with the private sector partnering with government. King Ocean Service, a subsidiary of MNC Shipping, is the latest company to provide assistance. More in this report. A local shipping company is contributing to disaster relief efforts in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as the neighboring island continues to cope with the effects of explosions from the Laos-Souffre Volcano. King Ocean Shipping, a subsidiary of MNC Shipping, partnered with the National Emergency Management Organization, NEMO, to deliver emergency supplies freight-free to St. Vincent. Keitha Allet is a sales executive at MNC Shipping. We originally was due to arrive last week, last week Wednesday, but as a result of what had transpired on short notice, we altered our rotation to come in on the Tuesday and we were able to load out 940-feet containers to St. Vincent, providing relief items. Out of the 9, we were able to load 2, which were donated by MNC Shipping, head office, well, parent company, I should say, which is Minville and Shastney Limited. The company says they have a good rapport with the National Emergency Management Organization and has assisted the organization with relief efforts in Dominica post-Hurricane Maria in 2017. NEMO knows that they can call on us at MNC and King Ocean at any time in order to assist them in the time of needs. We have a very good relationship with the management of NEMO, including Miss Meda and the other members at NEMO. Anytime they need help, they are free to call on us and we will see how best we can assist. King Ocean Shipping Services expects to continue with relief efforts to St. Vincent and the Grenadines with the shipment of at least 540-foot containers this week. From the Government Information Service, Lisa Joseph reporting. And the United Nations has launched a global appeal fund for the volcano-stricken sister isle. Prime Minister Hon. Graf Gonzalez taught the Red Zone with a UN team, as Khalil Kato of SVG-TV. Prime Minister Gonzalez said that the communities have long faced multiple threats from nature, including sea erosion, hurricanes, unseasonal and excessive rainfall and, most recently, the eruption of the volcano in a time when the entire nation is battling the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Gonzalez said there is quite a bit of work that will need to be done in the area as homes which were not totally destroyed will need extensive repairs. The Prime Minister said he wanted the United Nations officials to see first-hand the level of devastation unfolding on the island as a result of the eruption of the La Sufra volcano. The combination of forces of nature piled up from the last event with rainfall, excessive rainfall and landslides and mudslides and the rest. The impact of the rumbling and rolling of stones too and the ash fall. And on top of that, what we are seeing with sea erosion, so it's a, in this case, three of them related to nature. That's why several persons in the delegation from the UN used the word to describe their apocalyptic. UN resident coordinator for Barbados and the eastern Caribbean, Dieter Rebouk, described what he saw as apocalyptic, noting that his team will be working alongside the government of SVG to provide assistance to those in need. The United Nations to help the people of St. Vincent and Agrona did, to, with not only humanitarian assistance to supply, to have the government supplying the most basic needs like food, like gas vouchers, like air, and help with the cleanup of the ashes and all related environmental health issues, but also to recover from these crises, to rehabilitate their replenishments, to look after housing and shelter, immediate needs, but also more local needs so that people can return safely as soon as possible and within the current risk that exists. Rebouk further stated that all facets of the United Nations have been mobilized and a donation of two million U.S. dollars in aid will be given to SVG. Meanwhile, residents will refuse to leave one of the villages in the Red Zone have been recounting their experience. More in this report. The action of this dog paints a bleak picture of the situation in Oria, which is one of the communities in the Red Zone on the windward side of the island, devastated by the eruption of La Sofrea volcano. The owner of the dog returned to the community for the first time on Sunday since the eruption started and when it was time to leave, the dog jumped into the water and swam towards the boat. There is total destructive transformation of Oria with a number of buildings destroyed including churches and the entire village covered with several inches of volcanic ash. New beaches were also formed at a new waterfall developed from the destruction of the main bridge connecting Fancy to Oria. The riverbed of the Oria Big River has been totally transformed with these huge boulders coming from the mountain slope. Dale Medica, who stayed behind, heard when it all happened. It was like over a thousand yards away, but I didn't make it here because rain was coming. This is a new river fall in Oria. This was born on the 13th of April 2001. Some areas in the community reaped of the scent of dead animals. This elderly resident, Grafton Caesar, is one of the men who did not evacuate. He said although they were able to save some animals, they could not save all. When the river came down, sheep and goats and pigs when it was goat and sheep inside the water, you didn't see water right there. Just like a waft on the real sheep and goats and dogs because they have no shelter place to shelter. So in the river, they have caves with the animals to go and shelter. But they don't know because they don't have the opportunity like we human beings so we have to take them and carry them away. Another resident known as Jombe said at this time, Oria is inhabitable as there is a constant sandstorm. He said it will take a long time before Oria returns to anything close to normal. When you look at it, it's like a desert, and we say you have to be good for living in a desert. The relation here is farming, and the people cannot come back in this village. Because up at the water, the situation is really bad. It's really difficult to put back pipe. You have to run real years before. We may say 20 years but it will take a time. Due to the weight of volcanic ash which has formed like cement, some roofs are caving in. The remaining Oria residents and those who have been watching videos and pictures of their houses from a distance are praying for rain to keep the dust down and wash away the dirt of their houses and crops which for many are the livelihoods. For SVGTV News, Larissa Pogsdike. The St. Lucia Diaspora has responded favorably to a request of the Ministry of Health for resources to enhance its service delivery to the local population. The first in a series of donations was made this week. On behalf of the Unity St. Lucia UK Association, the Diaspora Affairs Unit presented 10 Commode Chairs to the Ministry of Health's procurement officer, Mistress Alison Zhang. Her Excellency, Jocelyn Fetcher, is Ambassador of Diaspora Affairs. Association is a... the columns are actually Unity UK Association. They have... they're made up of a number of associations in the UK so they're the umbrella of those associations. And together they have... they have been sending all the things down to St. Lucia but on the call from the Ministry of Health for assistance, they have donated 10 Commodes to the Ministry of Health on behalf of that association. So we are saying to the Mrs. Zhang, who is the procurement officer of the Ministry of Health for my correct, Mrs. Zhang. So we are saying to... on behalf of Unity St. Lucia UK Association, I present you with... this is a sample of what is in those boxes, 10 of them to the Ministry of Health. So we'd like to say thank you. So we have a couple of ministries of that. We'd like to thank the Unity Association through our Diaspora Office in facilitating the 10 Commodes and we will assure you that these Commodes will get to the places which need it at our health institutions and perhaps to patients who may be in dire need of it. So again, on behalf of the Ministry of Health, we are grateful for this donation. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. In more diaspora developments, the St. Lucia Diaspora was recently engaged in a crime and security in St. Lucia Discourse spearheaded by the St. Lucia Diaspora Affairs Unit in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Justice and National Security at the Institute of Caribbean Studies. Jesse Leos has the details of the virtual event. Minister for Home Affairs, Justice and National Security, Senator the Honourable Herman Kill-Francis, has committed to publish reports coming out of weekly citizen security meetings that are held with Prime Minister Hon. Alan Chastney. This was one of the resolutions coming out of a St. Lucia Diaspora Crime and Security Discourse held on March 21st. The virtual event was held for St. Lucia in the diaspora, contemplating repatriation to live and work or invest. Hon. Francis reinforced the commitment of the government to constantly refine crime management systems and overall safety and security on the island. He agrees that the diaspora must be updated on the progress that the administration makes in this respect. We must give some more information. It is not anything that we have to hide, but to publish the weekly reports that we get from this citizen security meetings that we have with the Prime Minister. I intend to do that. I am happy for this question. I think it is good because perception is how we say it, 90% of the truth. But I know for a fact that St. Lucia is very, very, very safe for visitors. And for St. Lucia, we want to come back home. We have had a number of persons who have returned or come to St. Lucia to engage in business and they have not had any issues. The discourse featured other government officials including the commissioner of police and the director of borderlay corrections, as well as executives of the Institute of Caribbean Studies. Among inquiries made by participating St. Lucia in the diaspora were requests for updates on forensic ballistics capabilities on island, prosecution rate of financial crimes and the impact of criminal deportees from places like the U.S. on local crime. Panelist Dr. Claire Nelson, who is the founder and president of the Institute of Caribbean Studies, in turn challenged the diaspora to use some of their first world skillsets to assist in improving safety and security in St. Lucia. Some of you are data scientists, some of you are into AI. I want us all to put another thinking cap as we go into the next. This is 70 minutes to go. What next? What role should the diaspora who are either data scientists, data analysts, AI, blockchain and all these new technologies be thinking about offering? We have here, I think, a very welcome and open team in St. Lucia. I think the diaspora, the St. Lucia diaspora may well be able to set a standard for diaspora engagement in the safer communities process in the youth empowerment processes as well as in helping us think through how can we use technology and law more effectively? Use the CCJ, use the Eastern Caribbean system to create that safety net for reporting crime so that people feel safe and witness protection costs can be brought down to an affordable level for our countries. The St. Lucia diaspora crime and security discourse was a collaboration of the local diaspora Affairs Unit, Ministry for Home Affairs, Justice and National Security and the Institute of Caribbean Studies. For the Government Information Service, I am Jesse Leons reporting. The disaster vulnerability reduction project has again served the island well. This after the village of Denry withstood the heavy rains associated with a trough on 12th April 2021. More in this report. With more than 114 millimeters of rain within a six-hour period, residents of Denry have come to expect flooded drains, impossible streets, overflowing bridges and a significant impact on commercial activity. The unusual downpour of April 12th tested the engineering designs of the Denry flood mitigation works which has been a work in progress in the face of this perennial challenge. There's a central drain that goes through Denry from the Green Mountain area that brings in a tremendous amount of water on its way to the sea. There's the Moor River as well that carries water from the internal part of the country, from the centre of the island and all that goes through Denry and goes into the sea. So, coupled with the fact that Denry is below sea level. The Denry South flood mitigation contract was awarded through a competitive bidding process to triple L construction company and has been undertaken in multiple phases. The project entails the construction of the central drain, improvement to the Chualu drain as the drain is further north, a large one, the construction of two retention ponds and a pumping station and an outlet into the river. We've constructed the central drain, most of it, the outlet into the river and the ponds are coming up next and then after that we'll follow the pumps. We are at what stage? We are at the central drain stage, practically 90%. The April deluge was a dress rehearsal for this flood mitigation engineering feats. I'm impressed with what we've done and the performance. I did not expect at this stage for it to be performing so well. What we can expect to see now is further improvements with the network. When it's completed, the idea is that in the extreme events you will see flooding. You cannot eliminate flooding, let's get that right. You can't anywhere, but we can design for flood events that's reasonable, that comes every one in 20 years. For the DVRP, we use one in 25 years. The comprehensive re-engineering of the drainage system within Denry South forms part of the disaster vulnerability reduction project for Saint-Doucher, which aims to increase long-term climate resilience by addressing the multifaceted risk associated with rain events. The project consists of five components. The first one being the risk reduction and adaptation measures. This component would support structural and non-structural flood and landslide risk reduction interventions and climate adaptation measures to improve Saint-Doucher's resilience against current and future climate shocks. Denry South's re-engineered flood mitigation system is a testament to the mandate of the DVRP. From the Government Information Service, Lisa Joseph reporting. This is NTN Nightly. Up next, Primus Hutchinson with the NTN Novella Quiole. If you are in receipt of an abnormally high bill, it is highly possible that you have a leak. That leak may not always be visible. Before you contact Wasco, conduct a do-it-yourself test. 1. Record your meter reading. 2. Do not use water for 30 minutes to 1 hour. 3. Take another meter reading. If the reading changes, you have a leak. Contact a plumber to identify and fix the leak at the earliest. A message brought to you by the Water and Sewage Company Incorporated, Wasco. Welcome back. We join Primus Hutchinson with the NTN Novella Quiole. Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, the University of Sabilite for information on the government of Sitalisi. This is GIS. This is the National Television for the NTN. This is Primus Hutchinson. Minister of University of Sabilite for Tourism at the University of Sitalisi. This is Dominic Fede. He is also the President of the United States of Canada. He declared that the Cabinet has made a good decision for Sitalisi. We will trust those who were in the village of Kanawi and only for the country to establish a business. According to Fede, this is the first time in the history of tourist development that there is a special place for tourist development. So, we have decided to establish a business. We will trust Sitalisi and be careful because we will establish a tourist business only for Sitalisi. We have also developed a tourist business in Kanawi and other parts of the country. We will develop There are more than 4,000 cars that are registered under the tourist service by companies that offer transportation all over the world. For the foreigners, we are built here. In the same way, the national conservation authority has authorized a wide range of licenses for people who serve tobacco, for the people who live in the sea, for the people who sell various tourist products. This is the world that is employed in the tourist industry. We have decided to declare that the good news for the work of the government of the tourist service is that the work is so great that the more the tourist, until today, I have received a lot of support from the law that has governed the tourist operations in this area, through these pieces in the history of this area. According to the Ministry of Development, this is the result of the vision of the government in order to place the tourist industry in the name of the Secretary. As for the health ministry, I have received a lot of support from the government for the work of the government to be done by the people who are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. I am also very impressed by the government's government Madawi 2020. Minister Desserté also received a confirmation that this individual who took part in the coroner who played out the reason and supported the active case for the present. For the present, there is only one case that is active, that is very critical for the treatment at the Victoria Hospital. In total, 4,419 cases of coroner who settled here for the present Minister Desserté, as mentioned in the last video, in total 23,633 people who received the vaccine, the coroner who settled here for the present Minister Desserté who played out the reason and supported the active case for the present Minister Desserté who played out the reason and supported the active case for the present Minister Desserté who played out the reason and supported the active case for the present Minister Desserté who played out the reason and supported the active case for the present Minister Desserté who played out the reason and supported the active case for the present Minister Desserté who played out the reason and supported the active case for the present Minister Desserté who played out the reason and supported the active case for And this is especially for the workers in the commercial sector, tourism, education, and transportation. For the health organization, such as WHO, I have also done so. If you follow, you can follow the second dose of the vaccine, which is six months for six months. One of the first doses, the first month, for the six, if you follow the second dose, the 26th for the 30th month of 2020. If you follow the eight months for the 12th month of 2021, you will find the third dose for the eight months of 2020. If you follow the case, you will find the 10th dose for the 14th month of 2020. The first dose of the vaccine, the 19th month, if you follow the first dose of the vaccine, you will find the 10th dose for the 14th month of 2020. The government has added this to its time to continue to do so. This is a recommendation from the Command Center. This is just the 16th of 2020, when the vaccine will continue to fight to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the country. The only change that will happen is that people will participate in sports activities and they will be able to participate in sports activities. Local competitions and social activities will be able to participate in sports activities. We have the same vision. As individuals, we'll be able to give exercise, and we'll be able to donate kiosks and plates. We will be able to use sports activities, we will be able to give kiosks and plates, and we'll be able to use sports activities. I would like to thank Mr. Otta for inviting me to come here. I would also like to thank him for inviting me to come here. I would also like to thank him for inviting me to come here.