NEWS
Queen’s Park members, public donate 200 hampers
About 200 hampers were expected to be distributed on Monday at the Queen’s Park Oval, through the combined efforts of Queen’s Park Cricket Club, members of the public, and the Port of Spain City Corporation. Colin Murray, executive secretary of the club, said to collect donations, club officials simply put baskets at the entrance of the Oval and asked members to donate. Since the donation drive got media coverage, he reported, more people from outside the club have come forward to add to what was already donated. “This morning I was leaving home and someone flagged me down with three bags of groceries and told me to give it to the Oval,” Murray said. “It was amazing. Read more here
Strokes among young COVID cases worry medics
The unusual occurrence of strokes among youths battling COVID-19 is yet another reason to prevent the virus' spread - because local authorities haven’t yet instituted treatment for these strokes. Plus, in some bad COVID cases, air escapes the lung into the skin, giving the patient an inflated “Michelin Man” look. And if you have to go on a ventilator during treatment, it’s a last resort and there’s a high chance of death. Consultant/cardiothoracic surgeon at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope, Dr Mark West, shared the information at yesterday’s Ministry of Health Ministry media update. On Monday in Parliament, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh spoke of the latest discovery that youths with COVID were suffering blood clots and “people are dying” in response to UNC MP Fuad Khan’s call to reopen food businesses. Deyalsingh said the blood clot development had thrown a “spanner into the works” and Government would take decisions only on scientific data. Read more here
CAL launches cargo charter services within Caribbean
Caribbean Airlines (CAL) has introduced cargo charter services to support supply chains within the Caribbean region. The airline launched this new option to meet the growing demand for cargo uplift to a number of islands which are now experiencing significantly reduced cargo capacity with the closure of borders to passenger aircraft, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. CAL Cargo will utilise the airline’s fleet of Boeing 737-800 and ATR-72 aircraft, offering up to 18,000 pounds for the movement of essential goods to and from destinations, including but not limited to Antigua, Barbados, Curacao, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Nassau, St Lucia, St Maarten, St Vincent, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. Read more here
POLITICS
Khan happy about Heritage
ENERGY Minister Franklin Khan is happy about Heritage Petroleum recording $5.4 billion in revenue and $1.4 billion in profits for the financial year ended September 20, 2019. In a newspaper advertisement, Heritage announced these figures in the summary of its audited consolidated financials up to the period ending last September. Heritage chairman Michael Quamina, in the advertisement, said last year was the first ten months of Heritage’s operation. Khan said, “Basically what that has done, is that has vindicated the Government’s decision to restructure Petrotrin which was in a losing position of $2 billion per annum.” Saying Government was always aware that exploration and production was a profitable business, Khan said, “What Heritage has done, has focused on that.” Heritage was launched after the closure of Petrotrin in November 2018. Read more here
Govt promises expanded virus testing facilities
Expanded COVID-19 testing facilities are coming. The next lab to go on stream for testing may be at the South West Regional Health Authority or Tobago’s RHA - and diagnostic testing for the virus will also be done at hospitals ahead. Word on testing facilities came yesterday from Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh and the ministry's principal epidemiologist Dr Naresh Nandram at the daily COVID-19 update briefing. Deyalsingh said the next lab for COVID work may be in SWRHA or Tobago, adding a new machine will be placed at the venue when decided. He said the delay was due to an embargo on 4,000 test kits which were supposed to go to SWRHA but he couldn’t give their arrival time as the embargo was partially lifted. He said as soon as the kits arrive they’ll go to SWRHA. Read more here
BUSINESS
Govt feels vindicated
State-owned Heritage Petroleum Company Ltd has recorded a profit $1.4billion for 2019, which represents the first ten months of operation. In the release of the company’s financial statements, the chairman Michael Quamina noted that the company “has performed remarkably.” For the period ended, September 30, 2019, the company also recorded $5.4 billion in revenue. In an interview with Guardian Media, Energy Minister Franklin Khan said he feels proud of the company’s performance. Khan articulated the revenue and profitability of the company has “vindicated the government’s decision to restructure Petrotrin into its various components.” He continued: “Petrotrin as it was currently structured was losing $2 billion dollars per annum, and we have turned that around within one year, from a $2billion loss to a profit of $1.4 billion.” According to Khan, it has always been our view that the exploration and production (E&P) arm of the company was a profitable business, nonetheless, its profitability was masked by the huge losses in the consolidated accounts of Petrotrin refinery business segment. Read more here
Digicel goes Smart
It’s time to be smart. About Health. Education. Mobility. And Security. And with a global pandemic that has changed work culture overnight, Digicel’s business solutions general manager, Liam Donnelly, believes T&T could be part of their vision of a Smart City. Read more here
REGIONAL
More men than women hit by COVID-19
THE number of confirmed Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases have moved from 74 to 75 within the last 24 hours, with the latest statistics showing that males account for 53 per cent of those cases. That’s according to Director of Primary Healthcare Services Dr. Ertenisa Hamilton during a virtual update on the COVID-19 pandemic on Tuesday. And whereas 15 of those who have been infected have recovered, five are still in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU), while 52 are in isolation, and another 19 are in institutional quarantine. Deaths related to COVID-19 remain at eight. Read more here
New Kingston BPO shut down - Worker tests positive for COVID-19
Less than 24 hours after the Government hinted at its hope for a whole-scale reopening of call-centre sites after an outbreak of COVID-19, it has emerged that a business process outsourcing (BPO) firm has been ordered shut by public health authorities in the wake of a positive case. An employee at the New Kingston-based Centerfield Media tested positive for the new coronavirus on Sunday, triggering a contact-tracing probe by the Ministry of Health & Wellness among scores of employees and family members. It is not immediately clear if the site received state exemption from a nationwide 14-day lockdown due to expire in May. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Trump still seems to not understand how bad the coronavirus crisis is
Three months in -- after a million infections, nearly 60,000 US deaths and a potential economic depression -- it's still unclear whether President Donald Trump grasps the gravity of the coronavirus crisis. The man who said he knew more about ISIS than the generals and claimed to have stunned dumfounded aides with his scientific acuity prides himself on a mystical instinct to make right calls. Yet Trump's leadership in the worst domestic crisis since World War II has consistently featured wrong, ill-informed and dangerous decisions, omissions and politically fueled pivots. Read more here
Coronavirus: Testing opens for millions more people in England
Coronavirus testing is available for millions more people in England from today after the government loosened rules on who can apply. Expanded eligibility now means care home residents and staff with or without symptoms can request testing. While people over 65 and anyone who must leave home to go to work can now book a test if they have symptoms. No 10 aims to hit its target of 100,000 tests per day by Thursday, with just over 43,000 taking place as of Monday. The expansion in eligibility beyond just essential workers and hospital patients means 25 million people can now book through the government's test-booking website, testing coordinator Prof John Newton told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. Read more here
29th April 2020