Vol. 27 No. 110 St.

Johnʼs, Antigua Wednesday May 13, 2020

ANTIGUA DISTILLERY
ADDS HAND
SANITISER TO ITS
PRODUCTION LINE
Pg 3

Trio charged in dive

shop burglary
Pg 4

Cancellation of
Gatwick flights
‘likely to bring
more high-end
Landmark birthday celebrations travellers’
Long-term Antiguan resident Hyacinth Mottley (left) - born in Barbados on May 13 1914 –
marks her incredible 106th birthday today. Also celebrating today is Zena Maude Doobay, orig-
inally from Guyana, who officially becomes a centenarian. Read story on page 8 Pg 4

Search for missing

man widens
Pg 5

Investigation into
death of English
Nation’s nurses take to streets in show of unity Harbour man
Nurses brandishing placards and banners formed a human chain along Queen Elizabeth High-
way on Tuesday in a show of solidarity with their counterparts across the world. The hour-
progresses
long event was to mark International Nurses Day which pays tribute to the selfless
contributions nurses make to society. Read story on page 9 Pg 6
Pa g e 2 We d n e s d a y M a y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0
T H E D A I LY O b se rv er

WHAT’S ON
PSC NOTICE
The Public Service Commission office is open Mondays
to Fridays 8am-12pm until further notice. Physical reg-
ular meetings are temporarily suspended. The public EXTENDED FORECAST
is assured that the Commission’s matters continue by
virtual and round robin dialogue to ensure the efficient WED THURS
implementation and monitoring of services rendered
by the civil service, regarding government policies.
Partly Cloudy with a Partly Cloudy with a
30% chance of shwrs 30% chance of shwrs

APUA ADJUSTED OPENING HOURS

High: 32ºC/90ºF High: 32ºC/90ºF

APUA’s Independence Drive outlet is open Mondays

Low : 25ºC/77ºF Low : 25ºC/77ºF

to Fridays from 8 am — 3.30 pm for bill payment and

Sunrise:5:36 am Sunrise:5:35 am
Sunset :6:31 pm Sunset :6:31 pm

customer service (customer service closes at 2pm on

Fridays). The Village Walk centre is open Mondays to ON THE RADIO
Fridays from 8am-3.30pm, and South Mall is open
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the cheque drop off boxes for cheque payments and
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We d n e s d a y M a y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0
Antigua Distillery adds hand
sanitiser to its production line
Trade Minister Chet Greene toured the factory to see the creations first-hand
By Elesha George
Elesha.george@antiguaob-
server.com
Antigua Distillery Lim-
ited – the producer of the
iconic English Harbour rum -
has responded to local and
T H E D A I LY
regional demand for hygiene
products by adding sanitis-
ing items to its production
line.
Already, the company
has introduced its ‘no virus’
surface cleaner and its gel
hand sanitiser which are cur-
O b se rv er
rently being exported to St
Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat,
Anguilla, St Martin, Barbados
and Bermuda.
Shortly the company will
also launch a sprayable hand
rub using a World Health Or-
ganization (WHO) approved
Pa g e 3
formula.
“We have three different
versions of our sanitiser. We
have a ‘no virus’ sanitiser
which is the blue label, that is
useful for your everyday
cleaning – cleaning surfaces,
counter tops, utensils etc.
“We recently launched
our gel hand sanitiser which
is the green label version with
local aloe which should be
used to sanitise hand and
skin,” said the distillery’s
master blender, Mario Wade.
The new WHO-ap-
proved product can be iden-
tified by its orange label
under the same ‘no virus’
brand.
“That is equal to our gel
sanitiser, except the consis-
tency is different. Different
people prefer different con-
Pa g e 4
sistency, so we are trying to
tackle both markets at the
same time,” Wade said.
All of the products are
free of perfumes and fra-
grances in keeping with the
WHO standard to reduce
skin irritation and allergies.
Managing director An-
thony Bento also disclosed
the company’s intention to
offer all three items in bulk.
He said the company
will be using the old Cavalier
1.75 litre plastic bottles to
mass produce bulk size sani-
Trio charged in dive shop burglary
Three men have been
charged in connection with a
burglary at an English Har-
bour dive shop in which
more than $30,000 worth of
equipment is said to have
been stolen.
The trio are expected to
appear before All Saints
Magistrate’s Court today.
Mauriceson Valentine,
19, of Potters Village, and
Dashaungh Richards, 20, of
Grays Farm, are jointly
charged with breaking in
Cancellation of Gatwick flights ‘likely to bring more high-end travellers’
By Elesha George
Elesha.george
@antiguaobserver.com
The decision by Virgin At-
lantic to cancel flights emanat-
ing from London’s Gatwick
Airport, and to increase flights
from Heathrow Airport, will
present an opportunity for An-
tigua and Barbuda to service
more high-end travellers once
borders reopen, say tourism of-
ficials.
“They have shifted all their
operations now to London
Heathrow versus London
Gatwick, and I think that’s a
good move for Antigua and
Barbuda …Heathrow has a
much higher brand equity for
the business class and the
upper class or the club world
passenger, who is the type of
passenger that will be keen to
be travelling and will be able to
T H E D A I LY
tiser products that can be sold
to restaurants and other busi-
nesses at an affordable price.
The Antigua Distillery
has also put forward a pro-
posal to the government to
provide sanitisers to schools
island-wide.
Wade said each of the
three tanks has the capacity
to hold at least 8,500 litres of
alcohol – enough for two and
a half days’ production -
adding that “we are readily
available to make about three
batches a day. So, we can pro-
Thousands of dollars of equipment was stolen during the heist
afford travel post-Covid,” said
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
of the Antigua and Barbuda
Tourism Authority, Colin
James.
James said although Virgin
Atlantic has not given an exact
date when it will resume flights
to Antigua, the airline has con-
firmed that its aircraft will be
reverting to the A330-300 series
configuration that launched in
early 2000 and boasts about 31
upper class seats.
And since most flights will
be tagged to Antigua and other
destinations, James believes,
“This is going to be good for us
in that it will allow us to con-
nect all major European capi-
tals same day so somebody
could leave Czech Republic,
Germany, Spain, Portugal, you
name it, and get to London in
time to make their connection
to Antigua.”
O b se rv er
duce roughly 400 cases of
product per day if all factors
are ideal”.
At present Wade said the
distillery is making multiple
smaller batches that equate to
a larger batch until demand
increases and will alternate
between the gel sanitiser and
the WHO-formulated hand
rub.
International Trade Min-
ister Chet Greene and Trade
Coordinator ambassador
Clarence Henry toured the fa-
cility on Tuesday to witness
British Airways (BA) is
also expected to close its
Gatwick operation and al-
though service is unlikely to
begin before July 2020, James
said it was also a welcomed
change because new flights will
originate from Heathrow as
well.
According to the CEO,
“Twenty percent of their [BA]
flights came out of Gatwick.
Gatwick was where all the
Caribbean flights originated,
but Gatwick had a disadvan-
tage in that people from Euro-
pean continents could not
connect same day via London
to Antigua. By the time they got
into Heathrow and they would
change airports and get over to
Gatwick, they would have
missed the connection.”
Meanwhile, airport and
hotel workers as well as taxi
drivers who will be at the heart
We d n e s d a y M a y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0
the product expansion.
Greene, who said the
products have “import po-
tential”, remarked that he
was particularly pleased by
the addition of aloe in the
sanitisers. The minister hopes
local farmers will use the op-
portunity to partner with the
distillery to supply the aloe
plant.
“This is innovation at its
best. This is truly the An-
tiguan spirit,” he said, pledg-
ing the government’s full
support.
and larceny.
Alvin Goodwin, 30, of
Grays Farm, is charged with
receiving stolen goods.
DiveCarib in Dockyard
Drive was burgled on Friday,
prompting owners to offer a
US$1,000 reward for infor-
mation leading to the re-
trieval of the goods.
A police source told Ob-
server almost all of the items
had been recovered by offi-
cers investigating the inci-
dent.
of the tourism sector’s revival,
are set to undergo “compre-
hensive” training on new
health, safety and service pro-
tocols.
Once agreed upon by the
OECS countries, these frontline
workers will begin training in
the upcoming weeks.
Among the protocols to be
agreed upon include the ability
for hotel guests to check in re-
motely to reduce person-to-
person contact, the
implementation of in-room
dining, change of clothes poli-
cies and stringent sanitation
regulations.
In addition, travellers must
present Covid-19 negative tests
48 hours before boarding a
flight bound to OECS countries
and Embarkation and Disem-
barkation cards (ED-cards) are
to be phased out and replaced
with online submissions.
We d n e s d a y M a y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0
Search for missing
man widens
With today marking 18
days since Gerald Philmore
Omarde of Bolans Village
was last seen, his family has
been struggling to come to
grips with his disappearance.
His son Kelly Omarde
told Observer media that the
family is currently trying to
process the news as best as
they can.
“Everybody is just sad.
My aunty called me and was
crying and other family
members, too. We just want
to find him,” he said.
Despite the sadness,
Omarde continued that the
family has not given up hope
and they are still working to
locate their 67-year-old rela-
tive. Thus far, the search in
the community has had no re-
sults but it will be broadened
to Bethesda and additional
surrounding areas as of
Pa g e 5
T H E D A I LY O b se rv er
today.
“I am going to gather up
some of my partners and
them and we are going to
continue the search. We are
going to do a search in
Bethesda along with the po-
lice [and] go up east to where
he was last seen,” he said.
Gerald Omarde, who
was last seen on April 25, was
wearing a checkered but-
toned-down shirt, red short
pants and black sandals.
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
OPENING HOURS
The Ministry of Education, Sci-
ence and Technology informs
the general public that, with im-
mediate effect, all transactions
with our departments must be
completed between 8 am and
noon, Monday through Friday,
until further notice. We apolo-
gise for any inconvenience
caused.
Pa g e 6 We d n e s d a y M a y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0
T H E D A I LY O b se rv er

Investigation into death of English Harbour man progresses

The investigation into
the death of English Harbour
resident Bruce “Jungle”
Greenaway has gone
through its first phase, with
the Antigua and Barbuda
Defence Force (ABDF) con-
firming it has completed its
internal probe.
Greenaway’s body was
discovered close to the
shoreline at Indian Creek on
Easter Monday. He had last
been seen in the custody of
ABDF soldiers after appar-
ently breaking curfew regu-
lations.
This allegation pushed
ABDF officials to conduct a
probe into the matter.
Yesterday, Chief of De-
fence Staff Colonel Telbert
Benjamin confirmed the in-
formation during a brief in-
terview with Observer, but
said he could not give details
of the preliminary findings
as the investigation remains
active.
“We completed our in-
ternal portion and all reports
were handed over to the po-
lice. We have had follow-up
discussions just to make sure
that we are aware of what is
happening because, as you
should be aware, the police
are the ones who really deal
with matters of this nature,
[but] we have done our in-
ternal piece [and] they are
doing what they are doing to
continue the investigation,”
the ABDF boss said.
Greenaway’s relatives
have been demanding an-
swers regarding what hap-
pened to the father-of-two
since his disappearance and
subsequent demise in early
April.

Resorts craft safety plans to welcome back guests

Hoteliers are hard at
work putting safety meas-
ures in place to protect staff
and guests from Covid-19 as
they prepare to reopen to
tourists.
On Saturday, Tourism
Minister Charles Fernandez
and Permanent Secretary Wal-
ter Christopher visited the
Hammock Cove Resort and
Spa and met with manager
Rosario Soler to hear more
about the work underway.
Hammock Cove comes
under the Elite Island Resorts Tourism Minister Charles Fernandez (right) and PS Walter Christopher
umbrella which also includes
Galley Bay Resort, Verandah,
Pineapple Beach Club and St
James Club.
Plans in the pipeline in-
clude providing guests with
face masks and a disinfectant
kit in their rooms, socially-dis-
tanced dining, and scheduling
activities at different times
during the week to avoid
large gatherings while ensur-
ing all guests can take part.
All frontline staff will
have their temperature
checked daily upon arrival to
work. Facilities are in place for
employees to change into
their uniform upon arrival to Hammock Cove Resort is busy putting safety measures in place
work and shower upon leav- thoroughly cleaned and sani- he was pleased with the meas- ment officials before they can
ing. tised. ures being adopted by the officially open for business.
Soler said while the coro- “We are depending on company. Within the next few Samoya Kirby, from the
navirus continues to impact the ministries of health and weeks, the ministries will fi- Ministry of Tourism, con-
the hotel industry, before the tourism to provide us with nalise protocols to guide firmed that the resorts had no
resorts welcome guests back, additional protocols to help us tourism industry operators set date for reopening yet.
managers will ensure that get all of Elite Island Resorts in going forward. Much will hinge on when in-
every bedroom, dining area, a state of readiness,” she said. All properties will be in- ternational commercial flights
bar, pool, spa and gym are Minister Fernandez said spected by a team of govern- return.
We d n e s d a y M a y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0 Pa g e 7
T H E D A I LY O b se rv er
Pa g e 8
Hyacinth Mottley celebrates 106th birthday
Long-term Antiguan resi-
dent Hyacinth Mottley - born in
Barbados on May 13 1914 –
marks her incredible 106th birth-
day today.
In her twenties, she left her
job as a Barbados school teacher
and embarked on a remarkable
journey that took her to several
Caribbean islands — from
Trinidad to St Croix and every-
where in between. From these
travels she gained many inter-
esting life experiences and les-
sons. From her father, Daniel
Mottley, a member of the
freemasons and a sailor who
had travelled the world, she
heard many exciting stories and
learned powerful and often
prayerful practices.
She is a fiercely independ-
ent person who believes
strongly in the power of prayer
and praise. This is exemplified
in her book “Words of Wisdom -
Words of Praise” which she pub-
lished when she was 97. In her
book, she comments on the is-
sues of personal development,
Zena Maude Doobay turns 100 today
Loving, caring and compas-
sionate grandmother Zena
Maude Doobay celebrates be-
coming a centenarian today.
She was born on May 13
1920 in Berbice, Guyana, the sec-
ond of 21 children by her father.
Her mother, whose parents went
to Guyana on an indentured
slave ship from India, unfortu-
nately died in childbirth after
giving birth to 10 of the 21 chil-
dren. Doobay is the only sur-
vivor of that set.
She grew up with her
grandmother who, with the sup-
port of her father, sent her to
school. She got married to
Nathaniel Small the day after
school closed, the year before she
wrote her school leaving exams.
She bore three children. Her first,
a boy, unfortunately passed
while still a baby. Lennox Small
followed, then a few years later,
Cloyette Small.
Doobay’s maternal grand-
mother, Rebecca La Rose, taught
her embroidery - making deco-
rative pillowcases, knitting chair
backs, doilies for centre tables,
making scrap mats and patch-
T H E D A I LY
spirituality, politics, religion and
social life. The book is based on
her life experiences and is filled
with pearls of wisdom and
nuggets of faith that many are
using as guides for living their
lives in these difficult and trou-
bling times.
Ms Mottley has been living
in Antigua for over 75 years. In
her early years here, she worked
as a domestic maid in many
prominent family households
including the Derricks and
Birds. In the mid-1950s she de-
cided to leave domestic work
behind and work for herself.
She began by selling trin-
kets and other goods out of a
suitcase. She trudged through
many villages, from Tyrells to
English Harbour, and from
Crabbe Hill to Urlings. In so
doing, she gained hundreds of
clients, many of whom later
sought her out for her wisdom,
insight and help in dealing with
life’s many difficulties and chal-
lenges.
She also served as a sort of
work sheets. She in turn taught
this at a primary school.
Her second and third jobs
were renting bicycles and being
a dedicated wife to her husband
who passed away at an early
age. She supported her family by
selling ice pop (sucka bubby)
and finger foods. She also did
farming, planting peppers and
vegetables. She loved to make
local wine and fruits for cake
from gooseberries and five-fin-
ger (star fruit); these were in de-
mand at Christmas.
She still loves to sing. Her
favourite song is Onward Chris-
tian Soldiers. She also loves to
listen to Jim Reeves. One would
think she is trying to out-sing
him, especially when she hears
“I’ll Fly Away”, relatives say. She
is still a member of the Presbyte-
rian Church in Guyana even
though she resides in Antigua
after travelling to Barbados and
USA.
Before she became confined
to a wheelchair, she visited the
SJPC Church a few times. Fam-
ily Feud is one of her favourite
TV shows. She also enjoys
O b se rv er
counsellor to many generations
of families. Her advice and
thoughts have uplifted, inspired
and motivated, and given real
help to many with whom she in-
teracted and those who read her
book.
Her favourite foods are
ground provisions, pepperpot,
lettuce and citrus fruits. She
doesn’t like to eat too much
watching Judge Judy.
Presently, she spends her
day doing Word Search, finish-
ing one book in just about a
week; she doesn’t wear specta-
cles. Even though sometimes
slow to recall, she does remem-
ber events and relates them to
We d n e s d a y M a y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0
meat and believes that the fact
that she keeps moving from
“morning till night” has helped
her to attain health and long life.
For over 70 years she has
been a committed convert in
using multivitamins and herbal
supplements on a daily basis.
Even now, at 106, she still uses a
“handful of supplements” in the
morning and a “handful” at
night.
One of her favourite say-
ings is that “while most people
kneel and pray, I walk and
pray”. This has been the foun-
dation of her life because she be-
lieves that we shouldn’t just
wait on God … because “He
helps those who help them-
selves.”
Ms Mottley has one son, Dr
Marcus Mottley, two grandsons
Tijani Mottley and Yohance Mot-
tley, and one great granddaugh-
ter, Leigha Mottley. She is a
member of the Roman Catholic
Church which she attended
every Sunday for decades of her
life in Antigua.
those who would lend an ear.
She still assists in peeling onions,
garlic and preparing the season-
ing for cooking. Her favourite
dish is “Same” (string beans)
and shrimp; she loves fish.
She has four grandchildren
— Candace, Lonsdale, Shariot
and Anthony; 12 great grand-
children, including Latanya and
others and one great great
grandchild.
She presently resides with
her eldest granddaughter, Can-
dace Woodruff, of Baxter Street,
St John’s, Antigua.
Asked what advice she’d
like to pass on to the younger
generation, so they can live to a
ripe old age as she has, she said
they should maintain a healthy
relationship with God as with-
out His guiding hand, she would
not have been able to achieve
such a milestone. She also added
that a relationship with your fel-
low men is important.
A relative said, “We thank
God for sparing her life to reach
this age so we could benefit from
the examples from her blessed
life.”
We d n e s d a y M a y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0 Pa g e 9
T H E D A I LY O b se rv er

Nation’s nurses take to streets in show of unity

Text and photos by Gemma
Handy

‘Standing strong’ were the

simple words on one placard
held by nurses who turned out
yesterday in a show of solidar-
ity with their counterparts
across the globe.
The world may be facing
one of its biggest health crises to
date but there was no mistaking
the fortitude among the na-
tion’s health care workers who
have risked their lives to save
their compatriots’.
Dozens of nurses brandish-
ing banners formed a human
chain along Queen Elizabeth
Highway to mark International
Nurses Day, an annual celebra-
tion which has perhaps never
before been so significant.
Some nurses were visibly
emotional as an official motor-
cade and passersby tooted
horns and called words of en-
couragement during the hour-
long display.
“We are overwhelmed by
the support that everyone has
shown to us today. Sometimes
a nurse’s work is not easy, espe-
cially during this pandemic, but
this has brought out the extra
strength we have inside of us,”
Nurses Association President
Soria Dupie-Winston told Ob-
server.
“We give thanks to the gen-
eral public for acknowledging
who we are and the work we
do as nurses.”
Another nurse taking part
described the event as “heart-
warming”.
And another said she
could not express how much
the public support meant to her
and her colleagues.
“It’s very emotional. We
are here for those nurses we
have lost around the world – for
them and their families,” she
added.
International Nurses Day
is observed globally on May 12
– the birthday of Florence
Nightingale who is considered
the founder of modern nursing
– to commemorate the selfless
contributions nurses make to
society.
Pa g e 1 0
Lions Club teams up with Hall
Valley Farms to make donation
A number of organisa-
tions have benefitted from a
donation of 80 dozen eggs,
compliments of Adrian Hall,
of Hall Valley Farms, and the
Lions Club of Antigua.
According to Susan Hall,
Hall Valley Farms wanted to
We d n e s d a y M a y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0
T H E D A I LY O b se rv er
assist those in need due to the
Covid-19 outbreak, and Lion
Valerie Gonsalves-Barreiro
MM MJF was approached for
her advice. Lion Valerie re-
sponded that the Lions Club
would be willing to partner
with Hall Valley Farms to en-
sure that those in need re-
ceived this generous
donation.
The eggs were donated to
the Salvation Army, the Care
Project, Clarevue Psychiatric
Hospital, the Fiennes Institute
and the Pensioners Associa-
tion. All of the groups were
very appreciative and
thanked the Hall Valley
Farms and the Lions Club for
remembering them.
President Lion Franklin
Maynard MJF, Lion Desiree
Edwards MJF (VP), Lion Gail-
Henry Lewis, and Lion Va-
lerie Gonsalves-Barreiro MM
MJF (Past President), were on
hand to make the donations.
We d n e s d a y M a y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0
Sagicor rolls out insurance
plan for health care workers
By Carlena Knight
As the world celebrated
International Nurses Day
yesterday, one private corpo-
ration stepped forward in a
show of support.
Via a virtual press con-
ference on Tuesday morning,
Sagicor launched an insur-
ance plan for health care
workers — dubbed the Sagi-
cor Health Care Heroes
Group Insurance Plan – in all
markets in the region, except
Curacao.
“We recognise that he-
roes don’t just exist in movies
but in life with us. Our heroes
are in the frontline workers
and include those in health
care, food, transportation,
sanitation and protective
services sectors,” said presi-
dent and CEO of Sagicor Life
T H E D A I LY
Ravi Rambarran.
“We are here today to
talk about our heroes in the
health care industry. We be-
lieve that, consistent with our
vision to improve the lives of
the communities in which we
operate, it is our duty to
recognise our heroes. Every
day our doctors, our nurses,
our pharmacists, the admin-
istrative staff and their fami-
lies across the public and
private health care sectors
put themselves in harm’s
way to take the fight to
Covid-19. Our heroes are our
people and we are honoured
to be there for them.”
The group plan is the
first in a series of ventures
that Sagicor will be rolling
out to assist frontline workers
during the pandemic.
Although the plan fo-
O b se rv er
cusses on healthcare workers
solely, and not all frontline
workers, it will be offered to
their families and business
entities as well.
It will include a 20 per-
cent complimentary cover
and will feature three benefit
packages for accidental
death, critical illnesses and
life. The Covid-19 virus does
not fall under the 10 critical
illnesses qualification for this
plan.
The coverage and premi-
ums will vary in the regional
markets, but for the OECS
member states, level one will
see $250,000 coverage for life,
$250,000 for accidental
deaths, and $100,000 for criti-
cal illnesses.
Level two offers $500,000
coverage for life, $500,00 cov-
erage for accidental deaths
Pa g e 1 1
and 150,000 for critical ill-
nesses, while level three pro-
vides $1 million coverage for
life, $1 million for accidental
deaths, and $300,000 for criti-
cal illnesses.
Those groups who sign
on for the plan, depending on
which tier they choose, will
also see a variance in their re-
quired payment per month.
For those signing on for level
one, it will be $88; level two,
$155; and level three, $310.
Due to the fact that this is
a group plan, Sagicor officials
are “encouraging nurses, or-
derlies, pharmacists to en-
gage with their associations
to reach out”.
More information on the
plan will be forthcoming in
later days or interested
groups are asked to contact
their local Sagicor office.
Pa g e 1 2 We d n e s d a y M a y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0
T H E D A I LY O b se rv er
We d n e s d a y M a y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0
Our Neighbours
CARICOM foreign ministers
condemn EU over blacklisting
of regional states
GEORGETOWN,
Guyana — Caribbean Com-
munity (CARICOM) foreign
ministers have “rejected the
arbitrary and unilateral im-
position of blacklisting by the
European Union” on several
CARICOM countries.
Last week, the EU said
under the Anti-Money Laun-
dering Directive (AMLD), it
has revised its list, taking into
account developments at in-
ternational level since 2018
and that the “new list is now
better aligned with the lists
published by the FATF (Fi-
nancial Action Task Force)”.
The countries which
have been listed are The Ba-
hamas, Barbados, Jamaica,
along with Botswana, Cam-
bodia, Ghana, Mauritius,
Mongolia, Myanmar,
Nicaragua, Panama and Zim-
babwe.
But Guyana is among six
other Third World countries
that have been de-listed.
In a statement issued
Monday following last
week’s 23rd meeting of the
Council for Foreign and
Community Relations (COF-
HAVE BREAKING NEWS?
462-3920/21
CALL US AT
T H E D A I LY
COR), the foreign minister
said they “rejected the arbi-
trary and unilateral imposi-
tion of blacklisting by the EU
on several member states of
the Community.
“They expressed concern
over the constant shifting of
goal posts, the continued lack
of prior consultation or noti-
fication and the unwilling-
ness to take into account the
efforts at compliance made
by CARICOM member
states,” the statement noted.
It said that the “measure
was viewed as detrimental to
the economies of the affected
states which are already in re-
cession.
“The Community called
on the EU to take into consid-
eration the disproportionate
impact of the COVID-19 pan-
demic on the economic well-
being of the small states of
CARICOM in their policy-
making,” the statement
added.
The statement said that
the foreign ministers also re-
viewed the region’s relations
with both its traditional and
more recent partners and dis-
O b se rv er
cussed ways and means by
which these relations could
further be strengthened.
“The COFCOR also re-
flected on the need to engage
new partners with a view to
promoting an appreciation of
the Community’s interests
and catalysing new develop-
ment platforms.”
The statement said par-
ticular attention was paid to
developments, such as
BREXIT and the negotiation
of the successor to the Coto-
nou Agreement, “which are
having a profound impact on
the nature of existing rela-
tionships, hence the focus on
relations with the UK in its
new dispensation and the Eu-
ropean Union (EU)”.
The statement said that
with the seventh CARICOM-
Cuba Summit scheduled to
be held in Cuba in December,
the foreign ministers received
an update on the status of re-
lations.
“The COFCOR paid trib-
ute to the government and
people of Cuba for the provi-
sion of public health person-
nel to boost the region’s
Pa g e 1 3
limited capacity in the face of
the spread of the coronavirus
pandemic despite the coun-
try’s own challenges aggra-
vated by enhanced US
sanctions.
“Foreign Ministers called
for an immediate and uncon-
ditional lifting of the US eco-
nomic, commercial and
financial embargo against
Cuba,” the statement said,
noting that the ministers also
made reference to the deep-
ening of relations with Latin
America.
“CARICOM Foreign
Ministers highlighted the re-
cent developments in the re-
lations between CARICOM
and Africa underpinned by
reciprocal official visits of
CARICOM Prime Ministers
and African Presidents which
have brought the two regions
closer.
“They expressed regret
over the postponement of the
proposed CARICOM-African
Union Summit in June 2020
owing to the spread of the
COVID-19 virus.”
The foreign ministers
have also expressed their re-
gret at “the understandable
postponement of the Com-
monwealth Heads of Gov-
ernment Meeting (CHOGM)
which was due to be held in
Rwanda in June 2020”.
It said that CARICOM
“was looking forward to ad-
dressing issues of interest
and concern with their Com-
monwealth counterparts.
“This forum has always
been viewed as a valuable
opportunity for exchanging
views with members of the
G7 and G20 which play an in-
fluential role in shaping
global economic and finan-
cial affairs. This would have
been opportune, given the
present need for the support
required by CARICOM states
whose economies have been
decimated by the pandemic.
This forum is also of signifi-
cance because of the impor-
tance it has ascribed
traditionally to the situation
of small states,” the statement
added.
Pa g e 1 4
Church leader against wearing masks in church
KINGSTON, Jamaica
— Apostle Christene
McLean, founder of the City
of Refuge Endtime Prophetic
Ministries in St Ann’s Bay, St
Ann, last night reacted in
dismay to a declaration from
Prime Minister Andrew Hol-
ness that churchgoers must
wear masks when they are in
the sanctuary.
“If he’s gonna be telling
people to wear masks he is
saying there is no God, that
God cannot deliver the peo-
ple. When it comes to God’s
House, people cannot be
wearing masks in front of
God looking like a terrorist,”
McLean said.
The self-described
prophetess said that God is
not pleased with the meas-
ures that have been imposed
on churches. The govern-
ment had initially imposed
tough social-distancing
measures to contain the
spread of the Covid-19 dis-
ease, which involved the re-
striction of gatherings to no
more than 10 persons in a
public space such as the
church.
But yesterday, Holness
said that effective this Satur-
day, churches may resume
full services but physical dis-
Lethem COVID-19 patient flees
isolation facility, arrested in Brazil
GEORGETOWN,
Guyana — A Guyanese
man, who tested positive
for the coronavirus ear-
lier this week, was ar-
rested by the federal
police in Brazil yesterday
morning after he fled the
isolation facility at the
Lethem Regional Hospi-
tal compound hours ear-
lier.
T H E D A I LY
Apostle Christene McLean said God is not pleased with the measures
that have been imposed on churches.
tancing must be observed.
This means that people
should be six feet apart at all
times. He also said that
everyone must wear a mask
in the church and that there
must be a programme of
sanitisation. The rules also
require churches to conduct
temperature checks on entry;
that no choir is to assemble;
and no air-conditioning
units are used. He said that
the provisions were agreed
following a meeting with a
representative group of the
church last Friday.
McLean, however, is
particularly irked by the re-
quirement to wear masks.
“How can you tell people to
wear mask into God’s sanc-
tuary? The prime minister
needs to step out of the fear
Reports are that the man,
who lives in Brazil and
makes frequent trips across
the border, discharged him-
self from the isolation facility
Monday night and crossed
the border. He was arrested
in the town of BonFim the
next morning.
The man turned up at
the Lethem hospital on Fri-
day night complaining of
feeling unwell. He was tested
positive for malaria days ear-
O b se rv er
that he has and allow the
people to walk by faith and
not by sight, because God
moves by faith,” she said.
“If you’re telling people
to wear mask, then you’re
saying God who heal people
like me from cancer cannot
heal Covid virus, so God is
absolutely inferior to Covid
virus?”
She believes that the
wearing of masks is a way to
destroy immune systems,
which will then force per-
sons to feel compelled to
take the vaccine.
“When we constantly
wear a mask, we only be-
come sick because we are
doing the opposite of what is
needed to create immunity
from viruses,” she said.
“When all the components
lier in Brazil. His condition
forced staff to question him
further since he was not
forthcoming about his his-
tory of travel. It was during
questioning that the nurses
found out that the man
crossed the border illegally to
seek treatment at Lethem.
Samples were taken
from the man and sent to the
city for analysis and on Mon-
day, his test returned posi-
tive. The man’s behaviour
We d n e s d a y M a y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0
that our body needs to ward
off diseases and viruses die
out, the vaccine comes into
play, but the vaccine carries
a chip that carries a radio fre-
quency radiation that can
change DNA, disrupt cell
metabolism and potentially
lead to other diseases.”
Scientists around the
world have been scrambling
to find a vaccine to help pro-
tect persons from the novel
coronavirus, which caused
the Covid-19 disease. Since
the disease was discovered
in China last December,
more than 4.2 million per-
sons around the world have
been infected by the virus,
which causes respiratory ill-
nesses. Some 285,900 per-
sons have died, and
economic activity across the
world has slowed tremen-
dously, leading to business
closures and massive unem-
ployment as governments
impose lockdowns and so-
cial-distancing measures to
contain the spread of the dis-
ease.
McLean, however, feels
that the actions being taken
represent a desire by govern-
ments to impose the mark of
the beast on people through
vaccination. (Jamaica Star)
has created much concern
among staff of the hospital.
Guyana has recorded
109 cases of the Coronavirus
to date. Over 1200 cases have
been recorded in the state of
Roraima next door to
Lethem.
Brazil’s tally of COVID-
19 cases has climbed sharply
over the 150,000 mark re-
cently with more than 10,000
deaths recorded. (Guyana
Chronicle)
We d n e s d a y M a y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0
World View
WHO sees ‘potentially positive
data’ in treating coronavirus
GENEVA (Reuters) - The
World Health Organisation
(WHO) said on Tuesday that
some treatments appear to be
limiting the severity or length
of the Covid-19 disease and
that it was focusing on learn-
ing more about four or five of
the most promising ones.
The Geneva-based
WHO is leading a global ini-
tiative to develop safe and
effective vaccines, tests and
drugs to prevent, diagnose
and treat Covid-19. The res-
piratory illness has infected
4.19 million people around
the world, according to a
Reuters tally.
“We do have some treat-
ments that seem to be in very
early studies limiting the
severity or the length of the
illness but we do not have
anything that can kill or stop
the virus,” spokeswoman
Margaret Harris told a brief-
ing, referring to the body’s
so-called Solidarity Trial of
drugs against the disease.
“We do have potentially
positive data coming out but
we need to see more data to
be 100% confident that we
can say this treatment over
that one,” she added, saying
more research was needed
and planned.
Harris did not name the
treatments. Gilead Science
Inc. says its antiviral drug
remdesivir has helped im-
prove outcomes for Covid-
19 patients.
Clinical data released
T H E D A I LY
“The World Health Organisation (WHO) is upbeat.”
(Photo courtesy Reuters)
last month on remdesivir
raised hopes it might be an
effective treatment. Several
studies looking at combina-
tions of antiviral medicines
have also suggested they
may help patients fight off
the virus.
Results of a trial in Hong
Kong released this month
showed a triple drug combi-
nation of antiviral medicines
helped relieve symptoms in
patients with mild to moder-
ate Covid-19 infection and
swiftly reduced the amount
of virus in their bodies.
The trial, which in-
volved 127 patients, com-
pared those given the
combination drug, made up
of the HIV medicine
lopinavir-ritonavir, the hep-
atitis drug ribavirin, and the
multiple sclerosis treatment
interferon beta, with a con-
trol group given just the HIV
O b se rv er
drug.
A malaria treatment
championed by U.S. Presi-
dent Donald Trump as a
“game changer” in the fight
against the coronavirus
again failed to show a bene-
fit in patients hospitalised
with Covid-19, a study this
month found.
While the study had cer-
tain limitations, doctors re-
ported that the use of
hydroxycholoquine neither
lessened the need for pa-
tients requiring breathing as-
sistance nor the risk of death.
In Geneva, the WHO of-
ficial sounded a note of cau-
tion around expectations for
a vaccine, saying coron-
aviruses in general are “very
tricky viruses” that are “dif-
ficult to produce vaccines
against.”
More than 100 potential
Covid-19 vaccines are being
Pa g e 1 5
developed, including several
in clinical trials. The WHO
said in April a vaccine would
take at least 12 months.
Harris said that the
Americas were the current
“centre” of the pandemic, al-
though she also noted rising
cases in Africa. However, she
said the continent had a “big
advantage” over other coun-
tries with little experience of
infectious disease outbreaks.
“They often have very
good contact tracing infra-
structure and a deep, deep,
deep memory and under-
standing of why we take a
new pathogen very, very se-
riously,” she said, singling
out South Africa for its effec-
tive testing and contact trac-
ing.
Asked about the reasons
for high case loads in the
United States and Brazil,
Harris said: “Around the
world we have seen that the
warnings we put out right
from the start, very, very
early on, were not seen as
warnings about a very seri-
ous, lethal disease.”
She restated that the
WHO, which has come
under criticism especially
from the United States for its
handling of the pandemic,
would conduct an “after-ac-
tion” review that would in-
clude a “free and frank”
discussion on its perform-
ance.
U.S. President Donald
Trump is working to reopen
the economy quickly against
recommendations from
health experts to move cau-
tiously to avoid a resurgence
of the virus that has so far
killed more than 80,000 peo-
ple in the United States, the
highest death toll in the
world. He said he acted early
to prevent the spread of the
disease.
Brazil has registered a
total of 168,331 confirmed
cases of the virus and 11,519
deaths, the most deadly out-
break in an emerging market
nation.
Pa g e 1 6
‘Madness’ to hold Uganda vote
if virus persists: Museveni
KAMPALA (Reuters) -
Uganda’s long-serving Pres-
ident Yoweri Museveni has
said it would be wrong to
hold a presidential election
expected for early next year
if the coronavirus persists,
signalling for the first time a
possible delay.
“To have elections when
the virus is still there...It will
be madness,” the 75-year-old
Museveni, whom opponents
cast as an authoritarian
clinging to power, said in an
interview with the local NBS
Television aired late on Mon-
day.
Uganda has recorded a
relatively low case load of
the Covid-19 disease - 121 in-
fections and no deaths - and
began easing a strict lock-
down a few days ago.
GLOBE AT A GLANCE
MOSCOW - Russian
President Vladimir Putin’s
spokesman Dmitry Peskov
said on Tuesday he had tested
positive for the novel coron-
avirus, as a new surge in infec-
tions gave Russia the third
highest number of reported
cases in the world after the
United States. Peskov, the fifth
senior official to contract the
virus, said he had last met
Putin in person more than a
month ago, the TASS news
agency reported. Tatyana
Navka, Peskov’s wife, said on
Instagram that she also had the
virus. Putin, who has been
working remotely from his res-
idence outside Moscow and
holding many meetings via
video conference, held a face-
T H E D A I LY
Though no date was fixed
for the 2021 vote, it is typi-
cally held in February.
In power since 1986, for-
mer rebel fighter Museveni
has not confirmed whether
he would run again, though
the ruling National Resist-
ance Movement (NRM)
party has already asked him
to be their flag-bearer and
voters expect him to stand.
The strongest opposition
presidential aspirant is pop
star and lawmaker Bobi
Wine whose music endears
him to the young.
Asked by Reuters about
Museveni’s comment,
Wine’s spokesman Joel Seny-
onyi accused Museveni of
capitalising on Covid-19
fears to try and entrench
himself further and cow the
to-face meeting earlier on
Tuesday with Igor Sechin, the
head of oil giant Rosneft. The
Kremlin says Putin’s health is
rigorously protected. In a sur-
prise announcement on Mon-
day, Putin said it was time
after six weeks to gradually lift
nationwide restrictions that
had forced many people to
work from home and busi-
nesses to temporarily close.
(Reuters)
OTTAWA - The Canadian
coronavirus death toll passed
the 5,000 mark on Tuesday and
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
said major reforms were
needed to seniors’ residences,
where more than 80% of the
victims lived. The public
health agency said the number
O b se rv er
opposition.
“We have seen repres-
sion in this Covid-19 out-
break, they are using it to
cement their grip on power,
without doubt,” he said.
Security personnel were
last month accused of tortur-
ing and blinding a lawmaker
allied to Wine over alleged
violations of coronavirus so-
cial distancing rules.
Opposition leaders and
rights groups have long ac-
cused Museveni of intimidat-
ing critics with detentions,
torture and tear-gassing of
rallies. The government de-
nies that, saying arrests are to
preserve the law.
Under the 45-day anti-
coronavirus lockdown, most
businesses were shuttered,
public gatherings banned,
of deaths edged up by 2.9% to
5,049 from 4,906 on Monday,
one of the smallest daily gains
so far. Canada is the 11th na-
tion to record more than 5,000
deaths from the outbreak.
Long-term care homes in On-
tario and Quebec - the two
most populous of the 10
provinces - have been particu-
larly hard hit. Officials have
detailed poor conditions in
some residences, where em-
ployees earn just the minimum
wage. “We’ve seen heart-
breaking tragedies in long-
term care facilities and nursing
homes right across the country
- overworked staff, under-
staffed residences, grieving
families,” Trudeau told a daily
briefing. (Reuters)
We d n e s d a y M a y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0
schools closed and move-
ments largely curtailed.
Museveni’s doubt over
holding the election con-
trasts with nearby Burundi
where campaigns are in full
throttle ahead of a presiden-
tial election next week.
Museveni has won five
presidential elections and in
2017 Uganda’s parliament,
dominated by NRM law-
makers, removed an age cap
from the constitution, allow-
ing him to seek another
term.
That parliament vote
was marred by violence that
included fist fights in the
chamber and at one point
soldiers from the army’s elite
special forces entered and re-
moved lawmakers opposed
to removing the age cap.
WASHINGTON - Lead-
ing U.S. infectious disease ex-
pert Anthony Fauci on
Tuesday warned Congress that
a premature lifting of lock-
downs could lead to addi-
tional outbreaks of the deadly
coronavirus, which has killed
80,000 Americans and brought
the economy to its knees.
Fauci, director of the National
Institute of Allergy and Infec-
tious Diseases, told a U.S. Sen-
ate panel that the virus
epidemic is not yet under con-
trol in areas of the nation. “I
think we’re going in the right
direction, but the right direc-
tion does not mean we have by
any means total control of this
outbreak,” Fauci said during
hours of testimony. (Reuters)
 Editorial Exploring simultaneous
We d n e s d a y M a y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0
GUEST OPINION
fiscal support initiatives
By Kwame Venner, Econo-
mist
for OECS governments
Worldwide, the Covid-
19 pandemic has left a trail of
destruction in its path, in-
cluding but not limited to
plummeting business and
government revenues and
significant layoffs and/or
salary cuts for a multitude of
workers. Some notable ad-
verse effects of the pandemic
in the OECS sub-region in-
clude:
A dramatic decline in
government revenues, of ap-
proximately 50%.
Redundancy of thou-
T H E D A I LY
sands of tourism sector
workers.
The temporary closure
of non-essential businesses
and concomitant effects.
To cushion the adverse
impact of the pandemic on
the socioeconomic land-
scape, many of the affected
countries have devised in-
come support packages
which are being funded and
implemented by their social
security schemes. These
packages are meant to pro-
vide temporary income relief
and cost tens of millions of
dollars to implement. In ad-
dition, the governments of
the affected territories have
provided a wide variety of
economic concessions to al-
leviate the plight of house-
holds and businesses. The
provision of these conces-
sions will undoubtedly re-
sult in tremendous
government revenue losses.
Neither the social secu-
rity schemes nor the govern-
ments can sustain these
worthy initiatives because
the scale of financial and
human resources required to
do so will become over-
whelming over time, bearing
in mind that these initiatives
are not the primary man-
dates of these entities.
Given the transitory na-
ture of the income support
measures instituted and the
need to continue the discus-
sion on suitable country-spe-
cific socioeconomic reforms
to move forward on a sus-
tainable path, the countries
could consider, in the in-
terim, conscientiously and
expeditiously resuming eco-
nomic activity whilst simul-
taneously adopting a In the circumstances, a
O b se rv er
disciplined approach to ad-
hering to the relevant health
protocols designed to control
the spread of Covid-19.
Adhering to health pro-
tocols is very important to:
Contain the transmis-
sion of the coronavirus
which causes the Covid-19
disease.
Gain citizens’ trust and
confidence that it will be safe
to resume daily activities,
which in turn ensures, criti-
cally, that the economic re-
covery is sustained.
The conscientious re-
sumption of economic activ-
ity would reverse the trend
of social and economic suf-
fering and minimise the
need for income support
programmes funded by so-
cial security schemes or
loans and/or grants from in-
ternal or external sources. It
would also negate the need
for governments to maintain
the excessive levels of eco-
nomic concessions which,
given the resultant high rev-
enue losses incurred, would
handicap governments’ abil-
ity to satisfactorily fund ad-
ministrative operations and
development agendas.
Citizens of the Organisa-
tion of Eastern Caribbean
States (OECS) can be assured
that its regional bodies, i.e.
the Eastern Caribbean Cen-
tral Bank (ECCB) and the
OECS Commission, will be
committed to steadfastly and
diligently providing the nec-
essary technical guidance to
the member states on
medium-to-long-term strate-
gies for responding to the
adverse effects of the pan-
demic.
Pa g e 1 7
joint fiscal support initiative
for the governments could
be considered by the inde-
pendent members of the
OECS. This could be treated
as a first phase of interven-
tion given these members’
unhindered ability to negoti-
ate with foreign countries
and entities. Such negotiat-
ing authority is not available
to the non-independent ter-
ritories in the OECS.
Key representatives from
the countries’ respective
Ministries of Finance could
meet to discuss the make-up
of this joint fiscal support ini-
tiative, which ultimately
would be duly deliberated
upon and approved by our
political leadership. Our
Ministries of Finance have
developed the requisite ex-
perience and expertise in
public sector financial man-
agement through continual
training, counsel and appli-
cation of prudent fiscal pol-
icy over many years. The
programme would be con-
structed bearing in mind a
lifespan of at least six months
that would satisfy the imme-
diate requirements/priorities
of government expenditure,
including but not limited to:
Employee wages and
salaries.
Utility payments.
Public infrastructure re-
pairs and maintenance.
Procurement of goods
and services.
Rental payments for
properties housing govern-
ment offices.
Social sector subven-
tions.
The group approach to
the design and management
of the initiative would give
Pa g e 1 8
“Ah pink and blue nuts wid artificial
flavour meh hab een dey.”
the prospective donor coun-
tries/agencies great confi-
dence in the quality of the
programme and in the abil-
ity of the group to efficiently
administer it, given the pool-
ing of the various countries’
relevant human resources.
The funding sources that
could be explored include:
Regional and interna-
tional agencies, e.g. Caribbean
Development Bank, World
Bank and International Mon-
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T H E D A I LY
etary Fund which, given their
‘AAA’ investment ratings, can
generate funding at low inter-
est rates.
Friendly countries
which have enjoyed decades
of economic success and
with whom our countries
have strong international po-
litical and economic rela-
tions, e.g. Canada.
A combination of fund-
ing from the options de-
scribed in (1) and (2).
O b se rv er
A country is not meant to
stop working, and must con-
tinue to interact with the rest
of the world. Our countries
need to arrive at the point
where health protocols are
adhered to and operations
can resume. Although this
may have to be phased in,
time is of the essence, because
our citizens and our public
and private sector operations
are in distress. Notwithstand-
ing the adverse developments
We d n e s d a y M a y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0
forced upon our countries, all
stakeholders must be very
mindful that the successful re-
sumption of economic activ-
ity is contingent upon the
establishment of a harmo-
nious relationship between
our governments and citi-
zenry. In this relationship, the
stakeholders must be res-
olutely committed to contain-
ing and controlling the
transmission of the coron-
avirus.
We d n e s d a y M a y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0
By Luis F Lopez-Calva, UN
Assistant Secretary-General,
Regional Director for Latin
America and the Caribbean,
UNDP
Niels Böhr said: “Predict-
ing is very difficult, especially
about the future”. Böhr actu-
ally won a Nobel Prize in
Physics in 1922 because of its
contributions to quantum
theory.
Natural sciences taught
us that causality can be estab-
lished by our scientific meth-
ods. However, I have always
defended the view that
causality as an epistemologi-
cal concept is an illusion in so-
Pa g e 1 9
T H E D A I LY O b se rv er
The Future is not
what it used to be
cial sciences because, among more than in natural sciences, ures will lead to a new wave
other reasons, we deal with face enormous challenges to of contagion? What sectors
non-stationary processes predict future states of the should be opened first and
(people react to interventions world. under what standards of
and behavioral responses are Having said that, I want safety? Are we going to see a
difficult to foresee). Kaushik to take a broader view and major disruption in food mar-
Basu has used this notion in defend a point: up to a few kets, given that supply effects
his critique to the “Random- months ago, we could predict of Covid-19 will show up
ized Control Trials” move- what predictions would look with a lag? How fast will gov-
ment within development like. Predictions about the fu- ernments be able to create
economics (which actually re- ture were, pretty much, pre- systems so that education can
sulted in a Nobel Prize for dictable. All the conversations be back on track? What are
Kremer, Duflo, and Banerjee!). about the “future of work”, the types of behavioral
For Kaushik, RCTs are the the role of technology, the ef- changes we will see after this
gold standard for a clean de- fects of climate change, and and how long they will last?
scription of the past. The same so on, were pointing to the (example: would you go to-
intervention on the same pop- same direction. Yet, the level morrow to the movie theatre
ulation might result in a dif- of uncertainty today has in- without hesitation? Will we
ferent outcome if repeated! creased the variance of what travel as often as we are used
Economists always thank God predictions predict. As we to? Would you send your kids
for the existence of meteorol- know, the quality and rigor of to school after reopening
ogists, because their existence prediction attempts also vary without asking about safety
guarantees we are not the (as Avinash Dixit said: tech- measures in schools?...)
worst discipline at predicting. nology reduced the cost of We cannot predict, but
Böhr, on a serious note, producing and publish- we can act on the basis of pa-
created the principle of comple- ing words, while the cost of rameters we want to establish
mentarity in physics: objects producing ideas remained for a “new normal”. We can
have complementary proper- constant; the result is what set a few principles that are
ties that cannot be analyzed any economist could foresee: desirable for recovery and
or characterized simultane- massive substitution). How- build our advice on those, al-
ously (this applies for exam- ever, there is an essential ele- ways subject to economic fea-
ple to what is called ment that makes our sibility. Bringing more climate
“entanglement”, referring to socioeconomic recovery work action as a driver of recovery
the fact that the state of a par- particularly complicated: the and “restoration of liveli-
ticle cannot be described in- basic parameters that will hoods”, embedding gender
dependently of the state of characterize the environment equality, pushing a more
the others). Entanglement can in which we can imagine spe- proactive public action in the
be easily translated into soci- cific policies having an im- care sector, and bringing an
ological frameworks. In any pact are not completely clear. inclusive lenses to recovery
case, what matters here is the Can we predict if relax- actions (“making recovery in-
fact that social scientists, even ation of health-related meas- clusive and pro-poor”), could
be principles to push for in
CARIB FAMILY-CENTERED SERVICES HOTLINE our recovery advice. Hope-
Members of the public that are experiencing mental anguish, anx-
fully, that will have an impact
iety, grief and loss, marriage, family, relationship, or work con-
flict, violence or abuse due to the current Covid-19 pandemic are on what the future looks like.
encouraged to call 783-8336 from 9am to 12pm for free therapy That we can do.
via phone call. The dust will eventually
settle. Predictions about the
DEVELOPMENT CONTROL AUTHORITY NOTICE future will be again as imper-
The DCA’s adjusted operating hours are Monday to Friday 8am- fect as they used to be. Our
12pm. All customers must wear a facemask and stand six feet future will be hopefully –
apart. marginally— better and, cer-
tainly, equally unpredictable.
COURTS NOTICE But, of course, I just made a
All payments due to be made to courts can be made daily from few predictions, so take them
8am-11am by order of the Chief Magistrate.
with a grain of salt.
Pa g e 2 0
World Athletics announces adjusted Diamond
League, Continental Tour seasons
An international athletics
season of one-day meetings is
taking shape between August
and October this year following
the commitment of most Conti-
nental Tour Gold and Wanda Di-
amond League meeting directors
to organise their events on
rescheduled dates in 2020.
A small number of countries
will be able to stage meetings
through June and July (Oslo’s
Bislett Games will go ahead in an
altered format called The Impos-
sible Games on 11 June), but the
international season is likely to
commence in earnest directly
after the National Champi-
onships window of August 8-9.
The first World Athletics
Continental Tour Gold meeting of
the year, the Paavo Nurmi Games
in Turku, Finland, will be held on
August 11
Eight of the 10 Continental
Tour Gold meetings originally
scheduled for 2020 have been
confirmed for this year, although
many have been rescheduled to
McGregor criticises UFC rivals & hints at fighting behind closed doors
Mixed martial arts fighter
Conor McGregor has suggested
he would like to compete in one
of the upcoming UFC behind-
closed-doors events.
McGregor, 31, was critical of
fellow lightweight fighters in a
foul-mouthed social media out-
burst on Monday.
He watched UFC 249 take
place without fans in the USA on
Saturday from home.
“The fans make the sport,”
said McGregor. “But it will be
my pleasure to display the
power I possess with zero back-
ground noise for them.”
There has been speculation
about an upcoming McGregor
fight after he posted a photo-
graph on Instagram with the
caption: “Stay ready.”
UFC president Dana White
confirmed he spoke to McGregor
before Saturday’s card in Florida
- the first major sporting event in
the United States since March -
and discussed the possibilities of
scheduling a bout.
Former UFC lightweight
champion McGregor was critical
of other competitors at the
T H E D A I LY
The World Indoor Championships will be held in Nanjing, March 19-21,
2021.
fall between August and October.
The Nairobi meeting, origi-
nally planned to open the tour in
May, has been rescheduled for 26
September, and the Nanjing and
Tokyo meetings are considering
dates in September-October, but
these have yet to be finalised.
A total prize money purse of
at least US$200,000 will be offered
for each Gold meeting
Some Continental Tour Sil-
Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor.
weight, and suggested the next
fight would be him against
American Justin Gaethje, who
successfully defeated compatriot
Tony Ferguson for the interim
lightweight title on Saturday.
“It’s me and Justin next as
Khabib is the biggest bottle
fighter in the game. Guarantee
it,” he added.
Khabib Nurmagomedov is
the UFC lightweight champion
and defeated McGregor last
year, a contest which was
marred by ugly post-fight scenes
as the Russian scaled the cage to
fight with McGregor’s team.
Nurmagomedov, 31, was
O b se rv er
ver and Bronze meetings will also
be able to go ahead, primarily as
domestic competitions, starting
from the Memorial Josefa Od-
lozila in Prague on 8 June.
As the Wanda Diamond
League has announced, its sched-
ule of one-day meetings will
begin with the Monaco meeting
on 14 August and continue
through until mid-October.
Due to the uncertainty cre-
scheduled to face 36-year-old
Ferguson for the title, but the
fight was cancelled for a fifth
time because of the coronavirus
pandemic.
Gaethje came in as a re-
placement to fight Ferguson for
the interim title on Saturday,
with victory putting the 31-year-
old next in line to face Nur-
magomedov.
However, McGregor does
not believe that fight will take
place, making a jibe at the Russ-
ian for not showing up to face
Ferguson this time.
McGregor finished by say-
ing that once he is finished with
We d n e s d a y M a y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0
ated by the coronavirus pan-
demic, the Diamond League or-
ganisers have announced that
these will be individual meetings
and will not include a series point
score, so there will be no overall
league winners this year and the
final in Zurich will not be held.
The format of each Diamond
League meeting and the disci-
plines included will be an-
nounced by each meeting
organiser two months in ad-
vance.
Of the World Athletics Series
events that were scheduled for
2020, only the World Half
Marathon Championships will
go ahead this year, on 17 October
in Gdynia, Poland.
The World Indoor Champi-
onships will be held in Nanjing,
March 19-21, 2021, but the
World U20 Championships in
Nairobi, Kenya, and the World
Race Walking Team Champi-
onships in Minsk, Belarus are
still being rescheduled.
(www.sportsmax.tv)
the lightweight division, he was
going to move up to welter-
weight.
He has experience of the
170lb division, having competed
there three times in the UFC -
fighting Nate Diaz twice at that
weight and, more recently, for
his comeback victory over Don-
ald Cerrone.
If he won a title at welter-
weight, he would become the
first man to win a world title in
three weight divisions in the
UFC.
McGregor also was scathing
in his criticism of interim cham-
pion Gaethje, saying: “Try and
dance around what the real
threat is here all you want.”
The Dubliner also criticised
former opponent Dustin Poirier,
who sits above McGregor in the
lightweight rankings. “Dustin,
although game, and in the mix,
will be fed to the floor again,” he
said.
McGregor previously beat
Poirier with a first-round stop-
page in 2014 and said Ferguson
should fight Poirier next. (BBC
Sport)
We d n e s d a y M a y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0 Pa g e 2 1
T H E D A I LY O b se rv er

Women’s World Cup 2021 qualifier postponed

The qualifying tourna-
ment for next year’s
Women’s World Cup has
been postponed because of
the coronavirus pandemic.
The event - featuring 10
teams, including Ireland -
was due to take place in Sri
Lanka from 3-19 July.
Pakistan, West Indies, Sri
Lanka and Bangladesh are
also involved.
Three teams will qualify
to join England, Australia,
South Africa, India and
hosts, New Zealand, in the
World Cup, scheduled for
February and March 2021.
The other teams in the
qualifier, who made it
through regional qualifica-
The coronavirus pandemic previously forced the cancellation of Ireland’s
scheduled tour of Thailand in April.
tion tournaments, are Zim-
babwe, Thailand, Papua
New Guinea, the Nether-
lands and the United States.
The International Cricket
Council (ICC) has also post-
poned the start of the qualifi-
cation process for the men’s
Under-19 World Cup in 2022,
with regional qualifying set
to begin in Denmark in July.
“We will work in part-
nership with the members to
find an appropriate window
to reschedule these events as
soon as is safe and practical
to do so,” said ICC head of
events Chris Tetley.
“Our priority during this
difficult period is to protect
the well-being of players,
coaches, officials, fans and
the whole cricket community
and we will take well-in-
formed, responsible deci-
sions in relation to both
postponing events and re-
suming international
cricket.” (BBC Sport)

Tyson comeback would be ‘horrible’ after one minute, says Steve Bunce
Mike Tyson’s rumoured
return to the boxing ring has
got people asking - is this the
real deal or just a publicity
stunt?
At 53, Tyson’s impres-
sive speed and ferocity in his
training regime have fuelled
the speculation.
“The power is a different
level,” says Rafael Cordeiro,
the trainer holding the pads.
“I didn’t expect to see what I
saw - I saw a guy with the
same speed, the same power
as a guy who is 21-22-years-
old.”
However, the last time
someone was punching
back, Tyson quit on his stool
against Kevin McBride in his
last bout in 2005.
“There are probably
hundreds of men above 14
stone that are boxing around
the world that would easily
beat Tyson now,” says 5 Live
Boxing’s, Steve Bunce.
“That’s the truth. Unless
he fights another 53-year-old
where they are both walking
through treacle, after a
minute it will be horrible.
“It comes to some fight-
ers at 24 and some at 34; they
At 53, Tyson’s impressive speed and ferocity have fuelled the speculation. realise inside they haven’t
got it. Then the longer they
are away from the sport,
they start to forget that feel-
ing they had when they re-
alised they didn’t have it.
“Tyson can have 20
years out of the gym and
look sensational when he
loses two stone with a man
making him look good on
the pads. I can assure you,
within 30 seconds of a real
fight with anything like real
gloves on, no matter what
the opposition is in the other
corner, he will become a 53-
year-old man again.
“It’s boxing, you don’t
play this. It’s serious.”
Talk of a charity bout
with Evander Holyfield has
swirled recently.
In 2006, Tyson engaged
in a number of four-round
exhibition bouts with Corey
Sanders. At the time he
needed money having filed
for bankruptcy in 2003.
“When fighters have a
second retirement, they can
never look you in the eyes
when they tell you of that
one fight back that they
know they shouldn’t have
had,” adds Bunce. (BBC
Sport)
Pa g e 2 2
Edwards reveals he was not always a goal scorer
By Neto Baptiste
Former national striker
and prolific goal-scorer, Der-
rick “Pretty Boy” Edwards,
who was famously referred
to as “Number four bound to
score” because of the num-
ber he carried on his jersey
and his knack for scoring
goals, was not always
charged with putting the ball
into the back of the oppo-
nent’s net.
As a matter of a fact, he
started his national team ca-
reer trying to do the com-
plete opposite, having
represented Antigua and
Barbuda as a goalkeeper at
the youth level.
“I started at the under-19
level [as a goalkeeper] and
carried Antigua to a finals in
Trinidad in 1986; so I started
off in the goal [but] the com-
Amazon Warriors retain Pooran, Hetmyer,
Paul and King for 2020 CPL season
CPL stars, Nicholas
Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer,
Keemo Paul and Brandon
King, have all been included
among the 10 Caribbean play-
ers retained by the Guyana
Amazon Warriors for the 2020
CPL season scheduled to get
underway in August.
Paul and Hetmyer are
two of seven Guyanese play-
ers retained by the Warriors.
Big-hitting Sherfane Ruther-
ford, Romario Shepherd,
Chanderpaul Hemraj and An-
thony Bramble were also re-
tained, as has been the
emerging player, Kevin Sin-
clair.
Odean Smith from Ja-
maica will also be back for the
coming season.
“The Guyana Amazon
Warriors Franchise has and
will always be committed to
the continued development of
our local and regional players.
From the inception of the
CPL, we included young
T H E D A I LY
Derrick “Pretty Boy” Edwards (left) avoids a tackle from a defender dur-
ing a Premier Division clash.
petition at the time was a lit-
tle bit tough in the goal be-
cause you had Wesley Dyer
and Francis from Jennings
who were the two goalkeep-
ers, and I was the third
CPL stars Nicholas Pooran (right and Shimron Hetmyer (left) are among
the 10 Caribbean players retained by the Guyana Amazon Warriors.
Guyanese players in our
squad as part of the fran-
chise’s mandate to provide
opportunities to young aspir-
ing Guyanese cricketers to as-
sist in their overall
development as professional
cricketers,” said Omar Khan,
Guyana Amazon Warriors
Team Operations Manager.
“Shimron Hetmyer,
Keemo Paul and Sherfane
O b se rv er
string, but I think that at the
end of the day and seeing all
those easy goals that those
guys were letting in, I
thought I could do a better
job but I had to hang the
Rutherford have all benefitted
from these opportunities prior
to them becoming full-fledged
members of our team.
“We are extremely de-
lighted that we were able to
retain the majority of our local
and regional players, includ-
ing Nicholas Pooran and
Brandon King, both of whom
have been hailed by the
cricket pundits as potential
We d n e s d a y M a y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0
gloves up and take the boots
on,” he said.
Edwards, who has rep-
resented the twin-island
state at all levels, including
coaching, remembers how-
ever, that it was following a
chance opportunity in Jen-
nings when he became
known for his goal-scoring
abilities.
“I think I got my break-
through in the First Division
against Jennings when one
player who was eligible to
start but didn’t get off from
work because he worked at
Brysons, and they started me
that game and I scored two
goals in that game and that
was it,” he said.
Edwards scored 59 goals
in 63 matches at the interna-
tional level while also win-
ning several scoring titles at
the national level.
future stars of West Indies
cricket and who were mem-
bers of our team last year. The
Guyana Amazon Warriors
wish all of the retained play-
ers great success in the CPL
2020.”
Retentions and signings
of international players will
be announced at a later date.
This year, teams can re-
tain as many players from
their 2019 squads as they
wish. They can also transfer
players to other teams and
sign emerging players.
The CPL is scheduled to
take place between August 19
and September 26, but the
tournament organisers are
currently watching the situa-
tion with Covid-19 closely
and are liaising with medical
advisors and governments.
A decision on whether
the tournament can proceed
as planned, or at a different
time, will be made as soon as
possible. (www.sportsmax.tv)
We d n e s d a y M a y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0
Bodybuilding stalwarts weigh on new age categories,
believe hardcore art is dead
By Neto Baptiste
The introduction of a
number of new categories
designed to attract a wider
cross-section of both com-
petitors and spectators in
bodybuilding has also
served to kill the more tradi-
tional version of the sport as
it pertains to hardcore body-
building.
This is according to two
stalwarts of the discipline,
Steve Williams and Kei-
throy Titus, who both be-
lieve that bodybuilders
today will gravitate to the
classic physique and other
recently introduced cate-
gories because it involves
less heavy lifting.
Williams, who is a for-
mer Sportsman of the Year,
believes many young body-
builders find it hard to keep
up with what is required to
be competitive at the re-
gional and international
level in hardcore bodybuild-
ing.
“It is dying, and the
bodybuilders themselves are
dying too, because of what
they have to do to keep up
with the level it is at right
now. If I was supposed to do
it again, just like Bernard
Percival, I would do classic
bodybuilding and I think I
have more of a classic
physique,” he said.
The former Mr. Antigua
who won the national title
on several occasions, added
that competitors from his era
worked harder at mastering
the craft.
“Our work ethics, I
think, was different from
what we are seeing now. I
think we trained harder even
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T H E D A I LY
Veteran bodybuilder Steve Williams (centre) enjoys a pose-down against
Ollyn Martin (left) and Orson Martin (right).
Keithroy Titus. (Social media photos)
though we did a lot of things
wrong because as I said, we
didn’t know the right way to
train, so we did a lot of
things wrong, but the point
is that we trained hard with
the little knowledge that we
had. What I find now is that
O b se rv er
the youngsters, they will just
go into the gym and train for
a six-pack [abs] and they
think that is bodybuilding so
our work ethics was totally
Pa g e 2 3
different,” Williams said.
Meanwhile, Titus took a
more direct approach, stat-
ing he was never in favour of
the new categories as they
promote laziness.
“I wasn’t really a fan of
all the different classes I saw
coming out of bodybuilding,
but I saw the reason why. I
am really a fan of the classic
bodybuilding because it
gives you a clean-looking
physique whereas the hard-
core style of bodybuilding
has gotten to a point where
people were just taking any-
thing available just to get
size and you had lost that
appeal. People were going
on stage, and if they could
just hold in their stomachs
for a little bit so they could
look ok and as soon as they
relaxed they would look as if
they were pregnant,” he
said.
“I think that, and I am
going to say this, without
fear or favour or contradic-
tion, but I think that a lot of
guys here in Antigua now,
that they have chosen the
physique because they are
lazy,” Titus added.
In 2019, four of the coun-
try’s female bodybuilders in
Kimberly Percival, Leanna
Carrington, Michelle
Seaforth and Sher-Rhonda
Braithwaite flexed their way
to success in Barbados’
Darcy Beckles Classic to earn
their pro cards.
Rosie-Ann Warring-
ton, Bernard Percival
Jr, and Elvis Bailey had pre-
viously earned their pro
card.
 SPORTS We d n e s d a y M a y 1 3 , 2 0 2 0

Matthew: I Personally Don’t See

Team Sports Returning This Year
By Neto Baptiste
Minister of Sports
Daryll Matthew, does not
see any lifting of restrictions
on team sports happening
this year without the avail-
ability of a working vaccine.
His statement comes as
government begins easing
some restrictions that were
put in place back in March as
the country battled the
spread of the coronavirus.
Matthew said that in his
personal view, team sports
could be the last of the lot to
return to normalcy here and
around the globe.
“I can give you my per-
sonal position which I have
represented to the govern-
ment and Cabinet from time
to time, and for me, person-
ally, much like how I didn’t
see the Olympics happening
this year, I think it would be
difficult for me to conceive
how in the absence of a vi-
able solution to the Covid-19
you could have major team
sports playing. It just doesn’t
add up in my mind, so even
if all players on a team get
tested and they are all nega-
tive, unless you are going to
house them in a safe or quar-
antined environment for an
Minister of Sports, Daryll Matthew.
extended period of time, so of measures to progressively
there is never any outside bring the country back to
[physical] interaction with normalcy.
any persons between games, Matthew said he has
I just don’t see how it can been working with the sport-
happen,” he said. ing bodies as they map the
The government, last way forward together.
month, eased restrictions on “I am in touch with all of
golf, cycling and recreational the national federations on a
walking and jogging, as part fairly regular basis, and what
I have asked them to do,
which some have done, is to
provide guidance in terms of
safety protocols from their
international governing bod-
ies; so swimming, I know,
has sent me, tennis has sent,
and so on because there are
some sports that because of
the nature of the discipline
can be exercised in a safe so-
cial distance way, if I can use
that expression,” he said.
“I have received docu-
mentation from the swim-
ming federation to identify
how swimming could take
place in a safe way. I’ve spo-
ken to the folks at the shoot-
ing association and you
know that’s a sport that’s
made for social distancing so
as I have said to the associa-
tions, I understand the frus-
tration and I would love to
go and play football but I
can’t,” he added.
Basketball and cricket
have both cancelled their
2020 seasons while football
has postponed its competi-
tions indefinitely. A number
of other associations to in-
clude cycling and swimming
have announced the post-
poning of national champi-
onships and other
competitions.

See classifieds
The Daily Observer is published in St. Johnʼs by Algernon Watts who resides at Mount Joy.
The Editor is Gemma Handy who resides at Bolans Village, St. Mary's Parish, Antigua.
on page 23
Contact: 156, Redcliffe Street, ABI Financial Building, 4th floor, St Johnʼs, Antigua, WI,
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