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St Kitts-Nevis to fine persons for not wearing masks

Authorities in the twin-island federation of St Kitts-Nevis have imposed an EC$500 fine on persons who fail to wear a mask in public as efforts continue to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The government, however, said a person should not be required to wear a mask, if he or she is under the age of three years old; or if he or she suffers with a disability, cognitive impairment, dementia, asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease or other similar health condition.

In addition, the wearing of a mask is not mandatory if a person is within a private space including in a private vehicle. However, the government warns that under the new regulations, a police officer may issue an EC$500 fixed penalty notice "to any person who contravenes the provisions of the law in relation to wearing a face mask in public places.

"If the person without the mask is between the ages of three and 18 years old, the parent or guardian of the minor shall be issued with the fixed penalty notice," the government said. St Kitts-Nevis has recorded 17 positive cases of the virus and no deaths.

Dominica slams US for travel advisory

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit says he has written to the US complaining about the decision by Washington to place Dominica and other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries on a list of high-risk countries to be avoided by its nationals because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

"Let me say to the United States, you know this travel advisory that they issued ... stop your ignorance and so forth, if you do not know, call me, call us we will give you information, but this unnecessary travel advisory (is) based on nothing really.

"Dominica is one of the top countries in the management of COVID-19 and we are prepared to share our practices with countries like the United States," he said.

Dominica has recorded 18 confirmed cases and no deaths. Only Haiti, Jamaica, the Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago have registered in excess of 200 positive cases within CARICOM.

Guyana adopts new measures to deal with COVID-19

Guyana's president Dr Irfaan Ali and Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony have held talks with minor opposition political parties as the country recorded 14 new cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) bringing the total of 568.

A government statement said that the meeting on Sunday was "to discuss interests and concerns as the government sets out to revamp the nation's response to the disease".

Anthony had recently announced that the new administration, which came to office last week, is actively working towards restructuring the response to COVID-19 on all fronts with a more holistic approach. He said the new approach seeks to provide a more technical and people-centred approach to combating the onset of the disease in Guyana.

Hurricane season set to become extremely active

Hurricane researchers in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University have increased their forecast, predicting now "an extremely active" 2020 Atlantic hurricane season.

"Sea surface temperatures averaged across the tropical Atlantic are much warmer than normal, and vertical wind shear is well below average," said forecasters Philip J. Klotzbach, Michael M. Bell and Jhordanne Jones in a statement.

"Current cool neutral ENSO conditions may transition to weak La Nina conditions by later this summer. We anticipate an above-normal probability for major hurricanes making landfall along the continental United States coastline and in the Caribbean.

"As is the case with all hurricane seasons, coastal residents are reminded that it only takes one hurricane making landfall to make it an active season for them. They should prepare the same for every season, regardless of how much activity is predicted," the researchers aid.

They noted that the Atlantic has already had nine named storms and two hurricanes through August 4, predicting that 2020 would have an additional 10 hurricanes .

Their outlook calls for 24 named storms, 12 of which are expected to become hurricanes, and five of those hurricanes becoming major hurricanes - Category 3 or higher (115-plus-mph winds) on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.