Political analyst, columnist, and talk show host, Mark Wignall, was shot and injured Tuesday morning in a drive-by gun attack on Red Hills Road, St Andrew.
Wignall was engaged in a telephone conversation at an area known as ‘Common’ on the popular strip when the gunmen approached and opened fire. Two other persons were also injured in the incident.
Wignall drove himself and the other injured persons to the hospital where they are being treated. Their wounds are not believed to be life-threatening.
President Donald Trump has announced that he will sign an executive order to “temporarily” ban immigration to the United States due to the “attack from the Invisible Enemy,” a phrase he frequently uses to describe the coronavirus pandemic.
“In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!” he tweeted.
New York Times reported that the order will temporarily block the issuance of new green cards and work visas with exemptions for some workers in essential fields, such as health care and farm work, for about 60 days.
Tahk the Talk has learned that nearly all visa processing by the state department has already been placed on hold, including immigrant visas, with asylum claims in effect suspended and thousands abruptly sent back to Mexico without due process. Democratic congressman Don Beyer calls the move “xenophobic scapegoating.”
The threat came as COVID-19 cases surpassed 2.5 million and the death toll from the virus surpassed 170,000 worldwide, sending economies into a tailspin as governments anxiously try to chart out a path to combat the crisis.
Trump claims temporarily halting immigration to the US would save American jobs – some 22 million of which have been lost due to the pandemic.
Update: On Tuesday, Trump said the ban will only apply to people seeking permnent resident status and not to workers enetring the US on a temporary basis.
Jamaica now has 163 confirmed COVID-19 cases, following the diagnoses of 20 new patients on Friday.
Three of the cases are from St. Catherine; two are females and Alorica employees, aged 33 and 19 years. The third case is a 42-year-old male, whose case is still under investigation. The Ministry of Health and Wellness said details of the other 17 will be made available to the public on Saturday.
Here’s a breakdown of COVID-19 cases in Jamaica:
Confirmed cases: 163
Imported cases: 33
Contacts of a confirmed case: 39
Local transmissions (not epidemiologically linked): 6
Under investigation: 68 (This includes 62 who work at Alorica)
Of the 62 Alorica workers, 55 are from St. Catherine, four are from Kingston and St. Andrew, and one case each from Clarendon, St. Thomas and Portland. Two cases are close contacts of Alorica employees and are from Clarendon.
The Ministry has reported that, so far, 1, 516 samples have been tested; 163 tested positive and 1,363 tested negative. Up to mid-day on Friday, there were 140 persons in isolation and 24 in quarantine.
The Ministry is also urging the public to recognize, now more than ever, the importance of taking care of their emotional health. Suggested steps to do so include:
Staying in touch with friends and family by giving them a call or reaching out to them via social media.
Taking a break from social media, the excessive use of which has been known to create anxiety among some persons.
Keeping a journal, which is a good outlet for self expression.
Exercising.
Additionally, the Ministry of Health and Wellness is advising members of the public—including those with chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and hypertension—to reduce their risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus by staying at home, avoiding crowded situations, frequently washing and sanitizing their hands, as well as covering their mouths and noses if sick or when out in public.
Jamaica has added 20 new positive results in the last 24 hours, bringing the number of COVID-19 victims to 125.
The 20 new confirmed cases include five males and 15 females, with ages ranging from two to 43 years. Two of the cases are imported—a two-year-old male from St. James and a 43-year-old female from St. Catherine. The other 18 individuals are connected with the BPO site, Alorica, in St. Catherine, bringing the number of confirmed cases at that site to 52. Of the Alorica total, 47 are from St. Catherine, three from Kingston and St. Andrew, one from Clarendon and one from Portland. Their ages range from 18 to 34 years and include 41 females and 11 males.
Here’s a breakdown of the number of cases in Jamaica:
Imported cases – 33
Contacts of a confirmed case – 34
Local transmission cases (Not epidemiologically linked) – 6
Alorica investigation cases – 52
Of the confirmed cases, 41 percent (51) are males and 59 percent (74) are females, with ages ranging from two to 87 years old.
Approximately 432 close contacts of confirmed cases are being traced by health departments across the island.
A total of 1,391 samples have been tested to date, including those for Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI), the National Influenza Centre reported. While eight samples are still pending, 1,258 tested negative and 125 tested positive.
Jamaica has now recorded 105 coronavirus cases and its fifth COVID-19-related death. A 63-year-old woman from Portland succumbed to the virus on Tuesday, the same day the Health Ministry reported an additional 32 COVID-19 cases—31 in St. Catherine and one in Kingston and St. Andrew—bringing Jamaica’s total number of cases to 105. The new cases include five males and 27 females, ranging from 19 to 70 years old. A total of 1,290 samples have been tested.
Health and Wellness Minister, Dr Christopher Tufton, informed The Gleaner that 31 of the 32 new cases are linked to the Alorica call centre in Portmore, St. Catherine. Two of their employees recently tested positive for the coronavirus, leading to a subsequent closure of the business. Prime Minister Andrew Holness says it is clear that some call centres were not observing the orders for COVID containment. He says he has requested an investigation into the circumstances under which the outbreak happened at Alorica, and for charges to be pursued.
Here’s a breakdown of Coronavirus cases:
Hanover, Trelawny, St. Thomas: 0 cases
Westmoreland, St. Mary, St. Elizabeth, Portland, St. James: 1 – 5 cases
St. Ann, Manchester: 7- 9 cases
Clarendon, Kingston & St. Andrew: 15 – 21 cases
St. Catherine: 36 cases
Total # of cases: 105
Total deaths: 5
Recoveries: 21
Imported cases: 31
Contacts of confirmed cases: 34
Local transmission: 6
Under investigation 34
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced a seven-day lock down in St Catherine, which will run from Wednesday, April 15 to 5:00 a.m. Wednesday, April 22.
Persons who need to do grocery shopping will have to adhere to the following schedule:
Allowed shopping hours: Wednesday, April 15 and Saturday, April 18
Persons must shop by age groupand surnames, with identification:
65 years and over: 8:00 am – 10:00 am
Surnames ending with A-M: 10:00 am – 1:30 pm
Surnames ending with N-Z: 1:30 pm – 5:00 pm
The Prime Minister has also said corner shops, hospitals, pharmacies and supermarkets will remain open. All entry and exit points in St Catherine will now be police check points. The police will be required to take people’s temperatures at these check points. Persons without a fever will be allowed go through.
Jamaica now has 73 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including one new case, the National Influenza Centre reported on Monday. The new case is a 57-year-old man from Kingston and St. Andrew with no travel history but who was in contact with someone who previously tested positive for the coronavirus.
Of the 73 cases, 31 are imported, 34 are contacts of confirmed cases, 6 are local transmission cases not epidemiologically linked, the remaining two cases are still under investigation. Confirmed cases range from 12 to 87 years old, with 55 percent being male and 45 percent female.
Currently, there are approximately 379 close contacts of confirmed cases being traced by health departments across the island.
The National influenza Centre also reported a total of 1,199 tested samples, of which 1,121 were negative and 73 were positive; five samples are still pending.
Three more patients have now recovered and released from hospital, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 19. There are still 66 patients in isolation, while 20 persons are in quarantine at a government facility.
President Obama’s administrative measures and bold leadership heralded a new era of U.S.-Cuba relations but the sustenance of long-term, meaningful ties require changing existing laws through the action of the U.S. Congress.
Cuban officials reported that a shipment of coronavirus aid to the US on Tuesday from Asia’s richest man, Jack Ma, has been blocked by the six-decade U.S. embargo on Cuba. The cargo carrier of Colombia-based Avianca Airlines declined to carry the aid to Cuba because its major shareholder is a U.S.-based company subject to the trade embargo on Cuba.
Carlos M. Pereira, Cuba’s ambassador to China, said that Ma’s foundation attempted to send Cuba 100,000 face masks and 10 COVID-19 diagnostic kits, along with other aid, including ventilators and gloves. Carlos Fernando de Cossio, Cuba’s head of U.S. affairs, also blasted the block.
The blocking of the aid should be “an action inconceivable in a global crisis,” but “it doesn’t surprise us,” said de Cossio. “It’s the type of obstacle that Cuba confronts daily in order to take care of the country’s basic necessities.”
Cuba was one of 24 countries in the region meant to receive the donations from the Jack Ma Foundation, which is sending similar aid to countries around the world, including the United States. Cuba called the blockage of the shipment a “violation of human rights.”
Human-rights groups have been pleading to the U.S. to lift sanctions on Venezuela, Cuba and Iran during the coronavirus pandemic in order to expand the flow of aid. The Trump administration has argued that only the countries’ government would benefit from the sanctions relief.
In an attempt to prevent further introduction of coronavirus to the island, Cuba has closed all air and sea connections, with the exception of essential cargo and government flights. On Friday, Cuba recorded 269 confirmed cases, 3,241 people in quarantine, 15 patients recovered from the infection and six COVID-19-related deaths.
One town in western Cuba and a relatively upper-class section of Havana have been completely isolated to prevent the spread of the disease.
Cuba’s population of 11 million people enjoy free universal health care with 95,000 medical workers, but operates without much of the equipment and testing generally available in developed countries.
Vybz Kartel will have to wait to learn his fate in his final murder conviction appeal. . The appeal of the popular dancehall entertainer is expected to experience delays due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, reported his attorneys.
Kartel, who was born Adidja Palmer, and his co-accused, Shawn ‘Shawn Storm’ Campbell, Kahira Jones and Andre St John were convicted in the 2011 murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams.
A three-member panel of judges of the Court of Appeal led by President Dennis Morrison informed lawyers yesterday that the appeal failed by a unanimous decision, The Gleaner reported.
“Despite the failure of the judge to follow the now well-established procedure involving sentencing, the sentences that he imposed are consistent with sentences handed down in previous cases, but the appellants are each entitled to the benefit of a deduction of the time that they spent in custody prior to sentencing,” the Court of Appeal judges stated.
Kartel’s high-powered attorneys expressed their disappointment in the judgment and vowed to head to the United Kingdom-based Privy Council where they hope to have a better outcome.
“The judgment delivered by President Morrison of the Court of Appeal which dismissed the appeal of Adidja Palmer and his co-defendants is not one that has been unexpected. We have been preparing to go to the Privy Council for several months now and we will proceed to do that,” Tavares-Finson, QC said.
The attorney who also serves as president of the Senate claimed “nobody in Jamaica believes Adidja Palmer got a fair trial”.
“We are confident that once we go to the Privy Council, we will get justice in this matter,” he said, before criticizing the courts for taking two years to deliver the judgment.
A telegraphed message from Kartel, days leading up to yesterday’s judgment, revealed that he was confident he would be freed.
“I feel very upbeat about the case. I’m 100 per cent sure I should be set free. Legally there is little to be concerned about. But put the ‘Kartel factor’ in the mix and everything gets complicated,” the controversial deejay said.
With the UK borders remaining closed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that has taken the lives of more than 3,000 people in that country, Valerie Neita-Robertson, QC, one of Kartel’s attorneys, believes the appeal process could extend to more than a year.
“We have to go to the Court of Appeal here for leave. So there is an intermediate stage before we get there. Sometimes it will take a year under regular circumstances – it is not a quick process – but of course the UK is under so much stress now, we don’t know when the courts will be up,” Neita Robertson said.
The family of a 41-year-old COVID-19 victim from Westmoreland is now being ostracized amid fears that they may have the virus.
The man who passed away on Wednesday, was the third COVID-19 patient to have died in Jamaica.
The now-deceased, arrived in Jamaica on March 12 and was taken to the doctor two days later after falling ill. Some family members believe he might have arrived in Jamaica sick.
“Dem (the deceased man and his wife) left in December and mek plan fi come back six months’ time, but them showed up two and a half months later, and we hear seh [he was] sick,” a relative reportedly told The Gleaner yesterday. “Dem come pon the 12th of March, and him go doctor on the 14th. Then mi husband call him and ask him how him do, and him seh that him was coming on fine.”
The woman recounted their surprise when her brother-in-law made a second visit to the doctor on March 24 and was diagnosed as having the coronavirus, before being taken to a medical facility in Kingston.
Residents told The Gleaner that they suspected that the deceased had been misdiagnosed and was being treated at home with ‘bush’ medicine before his illness worsened. A brother of the deceased also told The Gleaner that he is not convinced that his brother died from COVID-19. Health officials say the death is still under investigation.
The news of his death has marred the family image, as the family has reported that they are now being shunned by other residents of the community who are linking them to the deadly virus.
“Since him dead is like all a wi round here so branded. Nobody nah come beside we, nobody nah talk to we, and is like everybody a Westmoreland ’fraid a di family yah now,” a relative told The Gleaner.
The global death toll from the pandemic rose to more than 51,000 late yesterday evening.
Brielle 
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