 Welcome to NTN Nightly. I am Genelle Norville. This edition stops stories. Thousands of St Lucia's recommends employment as St Lucia reopens its tourism industry. The Royal St Lucia Police Force highlights successes during the COVID-19 response period and the Republic of India supports St Lucia's fight against COVID-19 with a donation. The economic impact of the reopening of St Lucia's tourism industry continues to grow. Today, St Lucia has welcomed some 3,254 visitors and 755 returning nationals. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism said that a number of properties on the island have reopened and thousands of St Lucia's have recommenced employment. The disclosure was made on Tuesday 11th August 2020 during a COVID-19 national response update to the nation. St Lucia as of the 9th of July 2020 began receiving commercial flights. To accommodate the influx of visitors and number of properties on island have been COVID-19 certified and reopened including Sandals Grand St Lucia, Lodera, Sugar Beach, a Viceroy Resort, Stonefield Villa Resort, Bay Gardens Beach Resort and Spa, Jade Mountain and Shastney, Wingama Landing Villa Beach Resort, Marigold Bay Resort Spa and Marina, Serenity at Coconut Bay, Ted Wouge Resort, Kai Bluff Villa and Hotel and Cap Mizzot. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Donald N. V. T, indicated that the impact on the economy has been far-reaching. In employment, just under 1,500 individuals have resumed employment at the hotels and individuals remain employed at the quarantine centres. The Permanent Secretary indicated that a total of 500 taxi drivers has been COVID-19 certified and are currently in operation as well as 56 boat operators. Thursday Friday this week the Ministry will be distributing the COVID-19 certified decals for the other tourism taxi, those with the H-plates as well as some of them from the talk companies and the DMCs. So we will have the resumption of an additional adding to about 1,500 persons within the tourism transportation sector would be certified and ready to work. In terms of the sites and attractions or the dive centres, for example, we have dive operators who would be resuming their service as of August 17 which is Monday and they would be counted in as well. So essentially as we open up, we know we're doing it by baby steps but by each step and each measure we continue adding services, the employment will continue to mushroom. The publication campaign also allows for increased employment in the tourism industry. The campaign was launched with the view of allowing individuals from countries within the designated travel bubble to visit St. Cluture without having to undergo the 14-day quarantine period upon the presentation of a negative PCR test conducted within seven days of travel. As of the 7th of August 2020, bubble countries include Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Anguilla, Barbados, Bermuda, Borneo, British Virgin Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Montserrat, St. Barfelmi, St. Kitts and Neves, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago. While Bermuda has not been removed from the bubble, anyone travelling from Bermuda via an international jurisdiction will be treated as an international traveller. The Permanent Secretary noted that it is important that there is equal opportunity for all sub-sectors of the tourism industry to benefit and the introduction of the bubble-cation campaign allows just that. While we have visitors coming from high-risk countries, we're going into COVID-certified properties. We also have bubble-cation where visitors from the Caribbean could go to the alternative accommodation providers, which is really what St. Lucien's regard as the Airbnb's, if I borrowed a brand of the company. We want to ensure that there is some level of equity and distribution and so we have assigned the visitation from the Caribbean bubble to these accommodation providers, where we have allowed the high-risk visitors to go into the COVID-certified properties where the protocols are very rigorous and will be able to deal with any of the risks that present itself. Phase one of the reopening of St. Lucia's tourism industry is still being considered a risky phase and as such has been extended to September 30, 2020. The Ministry of Health and Wellness says St. Lucia's COVID-19 testing capacity has been increased. This, according to health officials, is necessary as the island seeks to adjust to the new normal, pushing on with the phase reopening of all sectors, including the tourism sector. The Ministry of Health and Wellness to date has conducted some 4,274 PCR tests. St. Lucia from the 13th of March to the 10th of August 2020 has recorded 25 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Individuals testing positive for COVID-19 range in age from 18 to 86 years. 16 of the 25 confirmed cases were imported. None of the COVID-19 patients have needed to be placed on a ventilator and St. Lucia has recorded no COVID-19 related deaths to date. Medical Officer of Health in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dr. Glensford Joseph, indicated that St. Lucia has increased its testing capacity drastically. We are able to run an average, which we have seen thus far, 196 cases per day or tests per day. And the system has the capacity presently to increase their testing to 500 to 1,000 tests per day. They are working to improve the testing capacity by automating their system and putting other measures in place so that St. Lucia can remain on top of our testing capacity. It is important to note that while we would have had our reopening of the borders July the night, definitely with the entry of persons into St. Lucia, we have our testing range from about 60 cases per day to 180. And this of course is going to vary depending on the flights and many other factors. The Ministry has also changed the testing strategy from not only testing symptomatic individuals but also testing individuals who are at risk, meaning individuals who may have been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 as well as persons who are coming into St. Lucia who may not have done a COVID-19 test or for any other reason where the validation of one's COVID-19 status is required. The Medical Office of Health indicated that with the commencement of the fifth phase of the country's reopening and the reintroduction of flights to St. Lucia, the risk associated with COVID-19 and its spread has increased. Consequently the Ministry continues to monitor the situation and institute measures accordingly to ensure the protection of all inclusions. At the Euronora International Airport we would have had established the third wave persons are screened and vetted to ensure that the risk of persons coming to St. Lucia is being managed effectively. At that point we look at the screen, they have screening questions to go through, they have reviewed their tests and also based on the screening process they are given band or color coded bands that would allow us to determine whether this person has been qualified for home quarantine, government run facility, whether they are going into a hotel that is a pre-approved hotel. A proposal has been placed before Cabinet requesting that as of September 1, 2020, the occupant bears the cost of quarantine. The associated cost is still being discussed and will be communicated at a later date. From the Government Information Service, I am Jadal Norville. During Tuesday night's update to the nation, Royal St. Lucia Police Forces acting Commissioner of Police Milton Daisy reported on successes in the enforcement of the emergency powers order during the COVID-19 response period. Jesse Leos reports. Law enforcement continues to contend with illicit border entries. During Tuesday night's update to the nation, Acting Commissioner of Police Milton Daisy reported new arrests for this offence. This last week two persons were arrested for that. They were taken into quarantine because they come in, we do not know, so we had to ensure that they go through the process and then we would do the charging. To date, the Southern Division of the Royal St. Lucia Police Force has responded to seven reports where four individuals were arrested for illegally gaining entry into St. Lucia. In the Northern Division, five individuals were dealt with at the Richfond Police Station and one was dealt with by the West Coast Police. Border security is crucial for the prevention of contagion during the COVID-19 pandemic. Daisy has assured that all resources at the disposal of the Royal St. Lucia Police Force have been deployed to intercept illegal crossings from neighboring islands. Police have also confirmed home quarantine revocations, becoming aware of breaches due to anonymous tip-offs from members of the general public. Last week, week before, we were able to bring in families, returning nationals who came in and not comply with the quarantine, the home quarantine protocols. They went out there and persons, we had the information, the police went in, got those persons and returned them but cannot ask them to stay home anymore. They had the opportunity to do that but they were returned to institutional quarantine so that I must say the public, I must thank them for the information that they are given. According to the police public relations, the Southern Division dealt with two families who violated home quarantine. Four individuals in the first family had their home quarantine revoked and were placed into a government quarantine facility. Similarly, two individuals from the second family were escorted from home to a quarantine facility for violating protocols. An update from the Northern Division regarding home quarantine violations remains pending. The number of persons arrested and charged for violating the curfew order stands at 56. Many more individuals were arrested, cautioned and released. For the Government Information Service, I am Jesse Leance reporting. This is NTN 9th Lee. 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. Ensuring equitable access to vaccines, treatments and tests to all in the Caribbean and Latin America through international and regional collaboration is the only solution to ending the COVID-19 pandemic. So says UK and Mexico foreign secretaries who expressed this view during a joint virtual seminar under the theme accelerating access to COVID-19 vaccines in Latin America and the Caribbean. They were joined by senior policymakers and scientists from across the region. The event was co-hosted by the UK and Mexico on the 5th of August and highlighted the importance of access to COVID-19 tools, ACT accelerator to ensure global access to vaccines, treatments and tests to face COVID-19. Caribbean and Latin American countries were represented by government officials as well as representatives of development banks and health alliances who highlighted the need for collaboration between governments, international institutions and businesses. UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that in order to end this terrible pandemic and kickstart global recovery, vaccines, treatments and tests must be accessible for all. British High Commissioner to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Janet Douglas, indicated that the wide interest in the seminar at a senior level across the Eastern Caribbean is proof of the urgent need for all countries across the globe to have equitable access to vaccines. Finding a coronavirus vaccine and supporting equitable access to it for Latin America and the Caribbean countries is a priority for the UK government. The UK is collaborating with the international community to support the rapid development and manufacturing of safe, effective vaccines as well as treatments and tests to ensure widespread global access. The UK has already committed some £315 million of UK aid to support research and development for vaccines, treatments and tests to ensure new tools are available to all, including the world's poorest countries. The UK also co-hosted June's Global Vaccine Summit which mobilized US$8.8 billion to replenish GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance. A study has revealed the promising results of the Oxford University's Vaccine Phase 1 and Phase 2 trials, one of a number of projects supported by the UK government. St Lucia continues to receive support from diplomatic allies in its fight against COVID-19. This time aid is coming from the Republic of India who made a donation to the government and by extension the people of St Lucia. Anisia Antoine has the details. The government of the Republic of India is contributing to St Lucia's fight against COVID-19 with a donation of medical supplies. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1982, India has assisted with the development of St Lucia through the implementation of programs aimed at developing its human resource, education and strengthening the health sector. Representative of the Indian Cultural Foundation, Dr Ram Theapia, speaking on behalf of the High Commissioner of India to St Lucia, stated that the donation of medicine to St Lucia is a testimony of India's commitment to the advancement and development of St Lucia, especially in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. India is committed to supporting its friends and partners in the collective fight against the pandemic, including by providing essential medical supplies, global access to medicines, vaccines and medical equipment to combat COVID-19. And it is vital for all countries and people. India believes that there should be free and open sharing of medical research and drugs and vaccines. In tune with this spirit, India has responded positively to the worldwide demand of essential medicines for almost 150 countries. Basically, it has become a pharmacy of the world as of today. Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Janie Daniel, expressed gratitude to the government of the Republic of India on behalf of the people of St Lucia. The Ministry of Health and Wellness extends its thanks to the government of the Republic of India for its generosity displayed here today through the donation, kind donation of medicines as well as other PPEs. And we wish to assure you that this donation of medication and PPEs will go a long way towards our response to the COVID-19 threat in St Lucia. We at the Ministry of Health cannot stress, cannot emphasise any further the importance of preventative measures as it put in to COVID-19. However, we recognise that there must be in preparation a response to any outbreaks that we may experience now and in the future. Therefore, we are very much appreciative of any effort by any of our global partners to assist us in this fight and response. And we look forward towards our continued cooperation as we share experiences and we share guidance and obtain lessons learnt with our global partners. The hand-in-over ceremony for the donation of medical supplies took place on Wednesday, August 12, 2020, at the Ministry of External Affairs. From the Government Information Service, I am Anisia Antoine reporting. That brings us to the end of Entia 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 General Norvel.