 Coming to you from RGIS Studios, I am Anisia Antoine and this is your midday news brief. The Department of Education, Innovation and Gender Relations, in collaboration with Loverly Sheridan, hosted a training session for teachers. The training program entitled, Creating a Buddy Culture in the Classroom, is being done as part of the Buddy Ambassadors Buddy Bench Anti-Bullying Campaign. Choiceless New Gene, Coordinator of Guidance Counseling at the Department of Education, Innovation and Gender Relations, noted that the training equips the teachers with the tools and tips to help develop a positive character in students. The Buddy Ambassador Buddy Bench campaign was designed by author and youth advocate Loverly Sheridan. Sheridan, who based the campaign off of her book, Be a Buddy, Not a Bully, says that the objective of the workshop is really just to raise awareness within teachers and to provide support in creating a Buddy culture in schools. The training program for teachers took place on Tuesday, February 25, 2020. The St. Lucia Goodwill Ambassadors program is proposed as a tool to actualize the national cultural policy in a number of key areas. The individuals appointed citizens of St. Lucia, who have achieved international acclaim and the overall objective of the program is to serve as a catalyst for socioeconomic transformation and the development of human capital in all sectors related to their creative arts and the industries, sports, visual arts, gastronomy and music. Activities celebrating St. Lucia's 41st anniversary of independence continued on Thursday, February 27, with the Goodwill Ambassadors Infestiture Ceremony. The Goodwill Ambassador program was created to allow citizens who have achieved international acclaim in their respective fields to leverage that status to the benefit of their homeland. The title of your Excellency will be conferred on the Goodwill Ambassadors as well as the St. Lucia Medal of Merit gold. They will also be issued with an official or diplomatic passport as awarded by cabinet and a decorated red laser passer signed by the Governor-General. St. Lucia has extended its travel restrictions to include five more countries as the new coronavirus COVID-19 continues to spread across the globe. St. Lucia's Department of Health and Wellness notes an escalation in the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 internationally as well as the spread of 29 countries outside of China, including 23 deaths. As of February 26, Hong Kong has reported 74 confirmed cases and two deaths, the Republic of Korea 763 confirmed cases, seven deaths, Japan 144 confirmed cases, one death, Italy 124 confirmed cases, two deaths, and Singapore 89 confirmed cases. This has been your midday news brief. Thank you for watching.