 Welcome to NTN Nightly, I am Jesse Layance. This edition's top stories, St. Lucia's emergency response agencies participate in a specially designed RSS training exercise. St. Lucia is among eight regional countries included in a newly instituted caracom travel bubble, and St. Joseph's Convent and the National Conservation Authority receive support from the National COVID-19 Telethon Fund. Coordination is the best bet that response agencies have in contending with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and a major weather system. That was one of the takeaways from St. Lucia's round of a tabletop response mechanism exercise organized by the Regional Security Systems Training Institute on Wednesday, 16 September 2020. Details in this report. With forecasters predicting an above normal hurricane season, first responders in the region are being prepared should the COVID-19 pandemic and a catastrophic weather system collide. The Regional Security Systems Training Institute held a national tabletop exercise with representatives from St. Lucia's police force, the fire service, the corrections department, the Ministry of Health, customs and exercise department, and the National Emergency Management Organization, NEMO, to practice the response for a hurricane hazard and a COVID-19 pandemic scenario during Gustav is the director of NEMO. We know that we are at in the peak of the hurricane season and so it is important to ensure that our various response mechanisms are working. And so this was a test to ensure that we are able to coordinate and to prepare and to respond in the event of an emergency amidst COVID-19. We had to look at our shelters, how they are going to operate, we had to look at how the responding agencies such as the police and the fire department already they are stretched with COVID-19. And so with a hurricane compounding the situation, we had to ensure that we are able to respond in a manner that will not cause more problems for us. Coming off of the exercise, the chief fire officer Joseph Joseph stressed the importance of a coordinated effort in executing a national response mechanism. In this scenario, we have prepared our fire officers to be ready for any emergency, of course, observing all the COVID-19 protocols and of course there is proper coordination with the other agencies because it is very likely that we will be overwhelmed in one situation or the other and that's where the other agencies come in. Medical officer of health Dr. Glenford Joseph represents the Department of Health. He assured the continued review of their disaster protocols where the pandemic is concerned. At the Ministry of Health, we are going to revise our protocols which we have done what we will continue to strengthen and to ensure that we have the various linkages with the other ministries and departments so that we can respond cohesively to hurricane or any other disaster in the context of COVID-19. Saint Usha's national tabletop exercise for responding to a potential hurricane hazard and a COVID-19 pandemic scenario was held online with participants conferencing at the Nemo headquarters. This RSS exercise was held for each of the seven participating member states from Monday, 14 September to Thursday, 17 September and facilitated with the assistance of three other regional agencies, namely Karakom Impacts, CARFA and SEDEMA. From the Government Information Service, Lisa Joseph reports in. Saint Usha is among eight regional countries included in a travel bubble decided upon by the Karakom Heads of Government. The travel bubble was agreed upon at the Heads 12th Special Emergency Meeting on the COVID-19 pandemic. The bubble comes into effect Friday 18th September 2020. Chairman of Karakom and Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Honourable Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, in a statement says the region has been hard hit given its dependence on the travel tourism sector. Honourable Gonsalves revealed that the decision to institute a travel bubble among countries of the Caribbean community was based on the need to resuscitate the travel tourism sector of member states and by extension the economy of the region. In agreeing to this, the Heads of Government were guided by a comprehensive report from the Caribbean Public Health Agency, CARFA, which provided recommendations on how the travel bubble would operate and laid out the eligibility criteria for countries to participate. These criteria included that countries would be categorized ranging from those with no cases to those which had low, medium, high and very high risk with respect to the rate of positive cases over a 14-day period. The level of risk would be determined by the number of positive cases per 100,000 of the population within a 14-day period. Only those countries with no cases and those in the low risk category would be allowed to participate in the bubble. Relevant data will be assessed by CARFA to advise on participation in the bubble. Travelers from countries within the bubble will be allowed entry in caracom states without being subjected to PCR testing prior to arrival and will not be quarantined. Travelers may, however, be subjected to screening on arrival. Initially, Antigone, Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kittson, Neves, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines will be included in the bubble as they presently meet the criteria. Other member states and associate members will be allowed to participate when they meet the criteria. The full requirements and protocols would be made available to the public and would be accessed both locally and regionally through the different media platforms. States of government look forward to more caracom countries joining the travel bubble as the region learns to live with this pandemic safely without destroying lives or livelihoods. That was Chairman of CARACOM and Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Honourable Dr. Ralph Gonsalves. And meanwhile, CARACOM Finance Ministers joined representatives of more than 60 countries and institutions in a virtual meeting on the economic consequences of COVID-19 and response strategies. Michelle Nourse of CARACOM News Time has more. Back in May, the Prime Ministers of Canada and Jamaica and the UN Secretary General launched an initiative titled the Financing for Development in the era of COVID-19 and beyond. The virtual meeting of Finance Ministers was one of a series of discussions being held on that initiative to build a comprehensive and coordinated multilateral response to the challenges developing countries are facing. The overall objective of the meeting of Finance Ministers is to present a single ambitious menu of policy options to the heads of government and state to recover from the current crisis in the short term and to mobilize the financial resources to achieve the 2030 agenda and its sustainable development goals. Building resilience and sustainability of countries and the global financial architecture over the medium to long term is also part of the objective. The menu of options will be presented for a decision at a special meeting of heads of state and government on the margins of the 75th United Nations General Assembly on the 29th of September 2020. Minister of Finance of Jamaica, Dr. Nigel Clark, told the session that COVID-19 summons all of us to act with dispatch. It is incumbent upon us to clearly identify credible policy measures that we can propose to our heads of state and governments in order to ensure swift action and implementation, he said. The St. Joseph's Convent Secondary School and the National Conservation Authority have received funding for the purchase of PPEs from the National COVID-19 Telethon Fund. The National Conservation Authority and the St. Joseph's Convent Secondary School are the latest beneficiaries of the COVID-19 Response Telethon Fund. On Thursday, September 17th, a check was presented to each institution for the purchasing of personal protective equipment. I am going to do the first one to the National Conservation Authority, which is going to be receiving some $13,169.33, I have to count every bit, and we will be presenting this to the CEO of the National Conservation Authority, they are the organization responsible for our many vendors who would from time to time come into contact with tourists from all over the world that are coming to St. Lucia at present, and our vendors, our staff at NCA, as they execute their duties, they need to have appropriate and adequate protection equipment, and so we are pleased to present this check to you. On behalf of the board and the management and staff and vendors of the NCA, I want to thank you right now when you look at the United States. Also in need of personal protective equipment is the St. Joseph's Convent Secondary School, which made an application to the government for assistance to procure items including plexiglass and face shields. A check for $7,981.88 was handed over to a member of the school's faculty. I would like to thank the Ministry of Tourism for this immense donation, and I can assure you that it has gone a long way and it will go a long way to make our environment safer for the students and staff, and not just the teaching staff, the support staff who work at the school. Thank you very much. The check presentations were held at the GIS studios. For the Government Information Service, I am Jesse Leans reporting. Students from schools island wide will get an opportunity to learn about the life of St. Lucien Botham Jean. The Botham Jean Foundation is screening a two hour documentary by Discovery Channel entitled The Ballad of Botham. The film provides a chronology of the life and death of Botham Jean, as well as the trial of a former police officer, Amber Geiger, who was convicted of his killing. Chief Education Officer Dr. Fiona Phillip-Marr says a corporate citizen who believes that the film should be viewed by students in St. Lucia has made the provisions. We are honored that the foundation and the director of the foundation, that being Mrs. Allison Jean, has invited our students, and more so a corporate citizen has found it necessary to speak to the importance of ensuring that his legacy remains significant in the minds and hearts of our children. And so this Friday, our from fives and from fours are invited alongside their teachers and we've targeted every single secondary school, including our private ones, so that the students get an opportunity to view that documentary free of cost, a slight snack we provided for them, and in addition to that the corporate citizen has agreed to pay transportation for every single school on island. And so as a Department of Education, we are very, very pleased to support this program and to ensure that our students do not forget who Botham Jean was, the impact that his life has had, and as the International Committee celebrates him so much that the U.S. has named an avenue after him that we at St. Lucia recognize his legacy, St. Lucia as a whole, but more so we give honor to him as an individual and we support his family likewise. Dr. Meyer, who has watched The Ballad of Botham, says the documentary film is impactful. It is really about the pain and suffering that was caused, but more so the resilience of the family and the overwhelming love that we saw of Mr. Jean for his family, for his nation, St. Lucia. And so it is for us to rally round our own. You know, very often we look at it from a distance, but it is to say how best can we as St. Lucia appreciate that something has happened, which we would pray never happens to any other family, but out of this what can we gain from it, what lessons are to be learned, what knowledge and what kind of attitude do we want our young people to have in terms of being resilient even in the face of such, you know, a horrendous act and tragedy, but coming out of it and saying how can we be better individuals, better humans. The viewing takes place at Caribbean cinemas on Friday 18th September from 10.30 a.m. COVID-19 protocols will be in full effect. The Department of Sustainable Development in collaboration with the St. Lucia Dive Association, several hotel establishments and certified divers will be hosting an underwater cleanup on Friday 18th September 2020 from 9 a.m. Sites in both the north and south of St. Lucia have been selected with cleanup scheduled for both the dive sites and the adjacent land spaces from which single-use plastics and other materials are introduced into the marine environment. Cleanups will be hosted at Barron's Drive, Magritte and Hummingbird Beach Resort in Souffre, at the front of the Sandals Latoc Resort and at the Bay Gardens Reef located close to the VG Beach area in the vicinity of a gully from Lecleri. The activity will result in the collection and proper disposal of debris that has made its way into the marine environment to the detriment of marine ecosystems and wildlife. It aims to promote environmental stewardship and good practices through widespread sensitization, education and on-the-ground actions, raising awareness of the negative effects of marine litter, especially single-use plastics on the marine and coastal environment. Video footage and photos of the event will be captured from which a shorter documentary will be developed. The initiative is funded by the Massey Stores SLU Environmental Fund through the services of the St. Lucia National Conservation Fund, Inc. Up next we have Primus Hutchinson with the NTN Nouvelle Aquial. 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, we now join Primus Hutchinson for the NTN Nouvelle Aquial. Primus Hutchinson. government setlecy. Amongst these diverse CJs, which are officially discussed, it was a matter that brought cooperation between the world and the sea, a matter of exchange of culture and governance. Mr. Limer also talked about the continuation of Jim Najla, which existed at setlecy in Taiwan. But the French government declared that it was critical for setlecy to continue cooperation in Taiwan to help diverse development in relation to these countries. Since then, these countries have continued to strengthen the relations that have existed in Taiwan. After a long discussion on the exchange of gifts and among the official zeroes that have been presented, it was also a matter of communication. This is Jason Hollingson, director of the operation and initiative special. Madam Maviste Rosemond, 2nd Secretary Jonathan Nyang, Consulate Bill Young and Assistant Shane Cron. Velcastruy excited to type in his argument on Jim Najla's 20th day in 2018. The engagement in place to establish a new marketing board setlecy for the general Nathaniel Reynolds, made a declaration that he would support the 2nd training session to place his work in a better position to prepare a product for the exchange. According to Mr. Reynolds, the plan is to establish a mode of operation for the product to be placed in a cell with the cultivator, which is the farmer, which is produced in a way that can be used in a marketing model. I think it is a good idea to have this product available in the future. This is the work that we have done to make this marketing model available to the local, but also regional and international. We want to go international, because we want to go by hotel, because we want to go out of the country, so already we want to go international. Another question I would like to ask for the family, Mr. Menors said that three months have passed, it has been two weeks before you were able to find a place to live, but after that, how did you find a place to work, and how did you find a place to live? Actually, the family has come to us, we know, now we know Selma, right away, and now we know one week and two weeks. Now, we know that we have to work to find a place to live, because right now everything is going well, and we hope, that people will come to see us, and to see us, because we can have a beautiful meal. Governor General Settlesey aus an Emmanuel Névoz Snaku, On behalf of the Rotary Club, I want to work with you already for a community development of our team. Governor General, to support this club, which has led to Chess, which I found a position to govern for this club. But Chess, to try to establish peace, to encourage me to develop further to lead the team. This is the first time that I have achieved this position in the club. In 2012, the club was founded in 2010. It started with five kids, like Nevis, Cayenne, Suriname, Aruba, Bonnet, and Curacao. It was the first time that I have achieved this position in the club. Chess was the first club to have achieved this position in the club. Chess was the first club to have achieved this position in the club. It was the first club to have achieved this position in the club. I would like to invite you to join me again to learn more about Chess. That brings us to the end of the 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 our YouTube channel. I'm Jesse Leos, signing off for now. Stay tuned for more NTN programming.