 Welcome to NTN Nightly. I am Genelle Norville. This edition stops stories. Saint Lucia is mourning the loss of a cultural icon. The Department of Sustainable Development embraces solutions in nature this biodiversity day and a show of appreciation to the frontliners. She was instrumental in the recording and preservation of Indigenous music. Joyce Ogis 76 died on the morning of Thursday 21st May 2020. Harris Anise Antoine Tributes have begun pouring in for Joyce Ogis, local music icon, eminent folklorist, and one of the pioneers in production and recording of Saint Lucia folk music. Miss Ogis' contribution to choral and folk music has been immeasurable and she was instrumental in the recording and preservation of Indigenous music. Miss Ogis' is best known for her research and promotion of the music of Saint Lucia folklorists including Césaire Descartes, Eric Adley, and Florita Marquis. In addition to her many music compilations, she published Saint Lucia Sings, a book of Saint Lucia folk songs in 1984, and oral and folk traditions of Saint Lucia in 1986. During her many years as a music education specialist with the government of Saint Lucia, she coordinated numerous research and training programs on local culture and folklor. In the 1970s and 1980s, she led the popular folk band Euronora Voices, which were instrumental in the resurgence of folk music. Miss Ogis' talents went way beyond singing and she was also well known for her sporting prowess in the netball arena. In 1969, she received the award for Sports Woman of the Year and represented Saint Lucia originally and internationally in the sporting discipline. In April 2000, she was named in the OAS List of Outstanding Women of the 20th Century and was inducted into the Hall of Fame for both sports and music. As a minister with responsibility for culture and creative industries, Senator Honourable Fortuner Belle Rose expressed her appreciation for the work done by the late Joyce Ogist. Joyce, of course, has been an icon in Saint Lucia and Saint Lucia culture. And people like me, one of our students really, from the era when we did music in schools, across the primary schools in Saint Lucia in 1973, 74 days about. And, of course, for me too, Joyce was an outstanding person. She was an outstanding Saint Lucia sportswoman. She was our first sportswoman of the year in Saint Lucia in 1968-69, day about. And of course, as a country, we owe it to her to celebrate her life. She deserved a lot. She worked a lot from the north and south, the length and breadth of this country. She gave service to our country. And so we have to acknowledge and respect, you know, the contribution that she has made. And I'm happy that, of course, our country did that. She's been awarded time and time again for her efforts. And we can only continue to show appreciation for people like Joyce. In between music and sports, Miss Ogist also served as a justice of peace and coordinator of various national activities. In 1978, she received the singular honour of having her photograph on the Tencent stamp of Saint Lucia. She is noted as the pioneer of the Festival of Carls and in 2017, she was awarded most excellent order of the British Empire OBE. Denise Joyce Ogist's achievements will continue to inspire many in sports and music throughout Saint Lucia. From the Government Information Service, I am Anicia Antoine reporting. As Saint Lucia joins other Caribbean islands in recommencing economic activity, nationals are urged to continue their roles as key partners in maintaining the low levels of COVID-19 transmission. Anicia Antoine tells us more. As of May 20th, Saint Lucia has recorded a total of 18 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 900 individuals have been placed in both quarantine and isolation. Currently between 250 and 280 people are in quarantine and approximately 68 people are in isolation. Dr. Michelle Faswa, national epidemiologist at the Ministry of Health and Wellness indicated that despite Saint Lucia maintaining a low transmission level of COVID-19, the public remains at risk and must remain vigilant as the threat persists. In Saint Lucia to date, COVID has manifested very mildly and I don't want the public to let their defenses down by me saying so. We are very pleased that we have not seen these complicated cases, cases that require ICU or severe cases. Our cases have all recovered. They are doing quite well. They range from fever and cough in some cases to persons who have a very, very mild cough that normally they would not have gone to the physician for, but because they were aware of COVID being circulated in Saint Lucia, they did decide to go in. So to date, and I think in most of the region, it has manifested quite differently. We are not seeing the number of cases or our healthcare system being overwhelmed and we are happy with that, but we still urge persons to take the necessary precautions and do not let your guard down. National epidemiologist explained the role the preventative measures, such as the wearing of masks, please in reducing the spread of COVID-19. We kept abreast of what was happening within around the world, looking at areas where the COVID-19, where the incidence had been increasing, looking at our arrivals into Saint Lucia. We strengthened our port health. We started putting in place certain restrictions for certain countries with a high burden of COVID-19 and I think to a large extent that that in itself restricted entry of COVID-19. I mean obviously did not restrict every single case, but I think that was a very good measure on behalf of Saint Lucia and the rest of the region. I also think that during the periods that we had our partial and total shutdown, those were very much warranted when we were able to actually go out in the field and do the necessary and I spoke to contact tracing earlier. Persons were at home and we were able to find persons, pick them up very early and place them in quarantine thereby breaking that transmission cycle. Saint Lucia closed its borders to the world on March 23rd, 2020 and as the country prepares to reopen, the Government of Saint Lucia has set the reopening date for June 4th, 2020. Dr. Faswa noting that the threat of importing cases exists, she emphasized that all stakeholders are taking the necessary precautions to prevent such from happening. The national epidemiologist encouraged the public and the business community to continue implementing and adhering to the recommended infection prevention and control measures and physical distancing measures. From the Government Information Service, I am Anicia Antoine reporting. The United Nations in 1992 declared the 22nd of May International Day for Biological Diversity to celebrate the variety of living things, plants, animals and microorganisms that support everyday life. This year, the Department of Sustainable Development will once again lead the observance under the theme, Our Solutions are in Nature. In January 2020 as part of continuing efforts to safeguard Saint Lucia's biodiversity, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the 2nd National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. This comprehensive plan takes a targeted approach to conservation, focusing on building awareness of biodiversity and assigning values to the many services that biodiversity provides. Janelle Gabriel is the Sustainable Development and Environment Officer with responsibility for diversity in the Department of Sustainable Development. This year, as we are looking at biodiversity day, the theme is Our Solutions are in Nature. And we are also battling this COVID pandemic and so we have taken a new approach to raising that message, even though it's so, so very tied into what is going on all around us. Right now, we are all looking within, everybody is looking within their borders for their own solutions and our theme is Our Solutions are in Nature. So, us with an abundance of natural resources, we know that we have solutions in nature, solutions for health problems, cosmetic problems, beauty, for business and industry and products and manufacturing to address climate change, water shortages, all of these solutions we can find in nature, we can find in the ecosystems that are around us. So, our approach this year is to remind people, to remind them that we can do our own research at home, we can look within, look inside of us at what we have and look for ways that we can use nature to solve our problems. Biodiversity has many benefits throughout the sectors, including agriculture. Agriculturalists and fishers are extremely important, given their significant contribution to food security and the scale at which their networks can positively impact monitoring, including data collection and conservation. Officers in charge of the marketing unit in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Natural Resources and Cooperative Studies, Constantine, highlighted the importance of biodiversity to the agriculture sector. In light of COVID, we've realized that we need to pay more attention to the biodiversity because the solutions are on the island. So, for example, if we look at the case of fertilizers, we are blessed with a wide range of beneficial microbes that are able to convert organic material into useful plant food, into useful fertilizers. But these are not exploited, they're not used, well, exploited is the wrong word, they're not used wisely. And if we start to use them, it means we could start reducing the burden that we feel when the imports are closed and when the borders are closed. So, for example, pest control is one of those that we definitely have, we can have a comparative advantage in when we look at it on a global scale. Fertilizers, we have a lot of plants that can be used. They can be used to extract plant hormones, they can be used to extract fertilizers, liquid fertilizers for hydroponics, for backyard gardening, and there's composting. We are blessed with a large collection of earthworms that we have not studied, but some of them have proved to be composters, and so they can be used for vermicompost. And it's something that the island can dwell into. One of the challenges for San Lucia is the lack of research. We need more research. We need also to bring our students and make our students part of the research. We need to make research a national undertaking so that the island can progress as it's supposed to. The St. Joseph's Convent recently presented comfort baskets for the respiratory clinics in the north of the island, as well as the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force. The donation is the school's contribution to the national fight against COVID-19. We have partnered with the SJC pair helpers and we have come to show a token of appreciation to our frontliners who we see are doing so much for our country right now during these trying times, and we wanted to give them something that they can have on the job and to know that we see you and we appreciate you. On behalf of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, we want to accept gracefully and gratefully this donation of care baskets to our respiratory clinics in the north. We do appreciate you very much students and teachers for presenting us with these care baskets in our response to COVID-19. We know we've had our respiratory clinics, our quarantine facilities, and our staff contributing towards the care and management of clients in relation to COVID-19. So we do want to thank you immensely for this presentation here this morning and we'll assure you that from looking at the baskets, I know the staff will appreciate it and will enjoy it. So on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, once again, we want to say thank you. We are showing appreciation for the police department who are working tirelessly to ensure that our country goes smoothly with its recovery. We appreciate their sacrifice and we know all that they do for us and so we would like to present these tokens of our appreciation to say thank you for all that you do. On behalf of St. Joseph's Convents Pair Helpers, we're more than happy to hand over to you all a small but worthy contribution for the efforts and sacrifices that you all continuously give to protect and serve our nation. We thank you. On behalf of the Commissioner of Police and the Royal Sinusia Police Force, I would like to express our gratitude to St. Joseph's Convents for your generous donation. Thank you. And this is NTIA Nightly up next, Primers-Hushingston with the NTIA Nouvelle of Quayol. Be aware of and follow water conservation practices. Here are a few tips to help you save water. Wash dishes in a basin of water instead of a running tap. Soak pots and pans instead of letting the water run while scraping them. Check toilets for leaks by putting dye in the tank. If color shows in the bowl without flushing, there is a leak. A leaking toilet can waste thousands of gallons of water. Use a bucket instead of a hose to wash cars and reuse grey water from laundry to water plants. Water conservation reduces energy consumption and strain on the water distribution system. Conserve water whenever possible and remember every job counts. A message brought to you by Water and Sewage Company Incorporated, Wasco. Welcome back. We join Primers-Hushingston for the NTIA Nouvelle of Quayol. Mr. Otter Genel, Mr. Madam Department of University of Sablité for information on government SETLICI GIS on the national television of the NTIA Nouvelle of Quayol, on Primers-Hushingston. Association of SETLICI, I feel the pain of Corona and like all organizations and agencies in the country we need to take steps to stay active during a bad pandemic. Let's see the appearance of the NTIA TV Executive Director for the Association Mr. Anthony Avril, declared that the association had to suspend this operation to continue to work. Madam, I have always observed that the association has always celebrated me with several activities but Corona has changed all of this. According to Mr. Avril, the association has been under a financial situation that has been affected by the operation since the last year. In 2020, the association of the organizations has already established a financial capability significantly with a large number of places to celebrate and observe me with. But unfortunately, after the association, according to Avril, it is necessary to work because Corona has weakened the capacity to pay this work. But Executive Director for the Association said that it is for us to have a team to be able to work with our clients in the same way. We understand that in order to do this, we have to pay a lot of money. Mr. Avril also called for the public to continue to work to assist the association. Avril mentioned a program that has led to register a world that has a vision problem. If we know a world that has a vision problem, even if it is difficult, it is necessary to make contact with the association or even take the phone with us. We can use it in English. 45285-5361-720-9941-4524691. That is what we are talking about. We are talking about Mrs. Rosemary Camton who is currently with Mrs. Rosemary Camton. Mrs. Rosemary Camton and everyone who is well aware of a country like this. Among the executive associations that are present, President Glenn Simon, Ms. Rosemary Compton, and the Office of Public Relations, Truddeo Malloy. The Ministry of Construction has done well. I have made sure that the sand that has been leaked can be removed by the river that has been leaked to the Slavic village. The Ministry of Construction has given permission because the river has been leaked for a long time. The engineer's office has given permission on the 12th of May to receive permission to remove the leak from the river to remove the water that has been leaked to the Grands Bowl in Aslaway. According to the information of the engineer's office, the condition that the river has been in good condition for the end of May is a shame to remove the leak from the representative of the Parliament in Aslaway to remove the leak. The Ministry of Construction has given permission to remove the leak from the Slavic village in Aslaway to remove the leak from the representative of the Parliament in Aslaway. The Ministry of Construction has given permission to remove the leak from the representative of the Parliament in Aslaway. According to the Ministry of Construction of the International Pays according to Executive Director Sonit Daniel Jalamuik has given permission to remove the leak from the representative of the Parliament in Aslaway to remove the leak from the representative of the Parliament in Aslaway. According to the Ministry of Construction of the International Pays according to the Ministry of Construction of the International Pays according to Executive Director Sonit Daniel Jalamuik according to Executive Director Sonit Daniel Jalamuik according to Executive Director Sonit Daniel Jalamuik according to Executive Director Sonit Daniel Jalamuik according to Executive Director Sonit Daniel Jalamuik according to Executive Director Sonit Daniel Jalamuik according to Executive Director Sonit Daniel Jalamuik according to Executive Director Sonit Daniel Jalamuik according to Executive Director Sonit Daniel Jalamuik according to Executive Director Sonit Daniel Jalamuik according to Executive Director Sonit Daniel Jalamuik according to Executive Director Sonit Daniel Jalamuik according to Executive Director Sonit Daniel Jalamuik sufficient time to go to a hotel. It's a pleasure to be able to spend a week with the old setlissi. So for us, it's a real challenge for us as a setlissi. Many people from the setlissi can come to see us. My name is Liyat, I'm from Caribbean Island. Liyat has a lot of capacity. So we have a lot of people from the setlissi. We have a lot of people from the setlissi. We have a lot of buildings for us. We have a lot of people from the setlissi. That's all for now. Thank you very much for your time. We have a lot of invitations. I would also like to say thank you to the new setlissi. Thank you very much. Thank you for your time.