good afternoon and Vashon brown with the
midday news a special welcome if you're
watching on one spot mediacom the
International Labour Organization ILO
estimates that at least 14 million jobs
have been lost in Latin America and the
Caribbean as a direct result of the
kovat 19 crisis in the region in a new
report released on Tuesday the ILO noted
that the pandemic especially affects
sectors that generate a large number of
jobs such as Commerce and the service
industry describing the impact of kovat
19 as catastrophic the report revealed
that the pandemic is causing a loss of
5.7% in working hours in the second
quarter of this year equivalent to 14
million full-time employees VLO
described the pandemic as the worst
crisis since World War two causing a
rise in unemployment and job insecurity
despite struggles getting markets for
their produce the Agriculture Ministry
is insisting farmers should continue
planting that word for minister or
portfolio and the Agriculture Minister
JC Hutchinson during a tour of the first
batch of excess tomatoes to be processed
into juice at trade winds citrus limited
Inbal walks and Katherine Harris first
the candle boost for the school feeding
program is the first step in the
government's efforts to help farmers
find a market for the excess produce the
way neil better known as worki in
prospect manchester showed us his
callaloo ready to be reaped but going to
waste because he hasn't found any buyers
due to the disruptions from cope with 19
junction in many supply Negril hotel
them with the food store fema by 5,000
cabbage 600 callaloo Tamia to CMMI
Tito's mechanic at least 20,000 autumn a
geography week or to callaloo just one
side alone and loop on an exciting but
unlike other farmers facing a similar
struggle he's not given up in the
perpetual inside cos want the groom to
come back hope that we can have more
Minister without portfolio with
responsibility for agriculture Jase
the Hutchinson wants all farmers to
continue planting we are encouraging all
those farmers who have reaped their
produce to get back into production
right away because three four months
down the line when the hotels and
schools open we have to provide them
with food all sorts if we don't get the
farmers going in production we are going
to be going to be in a serious problem
meanwhile even though the coronavirus
has significantly slowed business and
many jobs are being lost mr. Neal has
been rotating the few workers he has
known you only have one morning the DEP
apply the America so the government has
budgeted 240 million dollars to help
lessen the impact of Corbett 19 on
farmers krysta Campbell TVJ news prime
minister Andrew Holness has responded to
calls for an island-wide lockdown strict
measures have been imposed such as
nightly curfews in an effort to stem the
spread of kovat 19
however countries like Italy have
imposed a total lockdown in the fight
against the virus but mr. Hollis
believes the nightly curfews could aid
in sustaining the economy while limiting
the spread of kovat 19
you
what we don't want to do is for
businesses to reach a point where they
have to scale down the hub they have to
lock down and then it takes them a long
time to restart so even though they are
losing some customers they are losing
some of their business we're going to
keep the measures to a point where they
can continue to function maybe even
break even maybe they can they make a
loss what they can sustain it for a
period of time while speaking at a meter
briefing yesterday mr. Honus explained
that the aim is for businesses to
recover quickly once the crisis is over
what we have been trying to do is a
balance between very strong economic
policy and very strong public health
policy and I think we have found that
equilibrium position that will place us
in that very green right on corner box
that's a strong economic rebound to
pre-crisis levels that is what we want
to be we want to come out of the crisis
and rebound very quickly and the Prime
Minister has announced Richter measures
for the Easter holiday period so as of
today Holy Thursday the curfew will run
from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. Friday morning but
on Friday until Easter Monday the curfew
will begin at 3:00 in the afternoon each
day until 7 o'clock the following
morning so as for markets they will
remain open until 7 p.m. today the
markets will be closed on Good Friday
Easter Sunday and Easter Monday and this
will include the market district
it will include transportation hubs
where beer is vending taking place and
arcades
all beaches will be closed over there
Easter weekend let me repeat that all
beaches will be closed over the Easter
weekend
that means all bitches will be closed
from Good Friday through to Easter
Monday our vows have been changes to the
stay-at-home order from April 8 to a pro
21 so if you're 70 years and older then
you are only loaded to go out once per
day for food medicine and what the Prime
Minister calls the necessities of life
must stay at home we're also advising
the following categories of persons to
stay home again persons with
comorbidities and persons with
respiratory illnesses so even if you are
not 70 years of age even if you don't
have symptoms of flu or respiratory
illnesses if you have these
comorbidities the diabetes the the
hypertension we recommend that as much
as possible you stay at home if you
don't have to be under the road stay at
all if you have respiratory illnesses
but you're not showing symptoms you may
have terrible sinusitis you may have
asthma if you don't have to be on the
road if you don't have to go to the
market stay at all
and it appears the government may have
to develop a state quarantine facility
to house Jamaicans who want to return to
the island since Jamaica closed its
borders the incoming passengers scores
of Jamaicans have been begging the
government to accommodate their return
some have even been isolated on ships
the Prime Minister made this comment at
a press conference on Wednesday that
were sent overseas under
government-sponsored programs whose
employers have indicated a desire to
repatriate them we recognize that we
cannot keep our borders closed
indefinitely however we cannot put our
population at risk of the spread as a
result of additional imported cases the
Health Ministry is to receive test
results today on individuals who came in
contact with the fourth person to die in
Jamaica from complications related to
the corona virus the patient of 48 year
old man died yesterday at the University
Hospital of the West Indies chief
medical officer dr. Jacqueline besides
the Mackenzie gave an update on the case
so so far we have tested a few some of
the close contacts of that person and we
have phone that there are four persons
that are positive so we continue to do
the investigations and more contacts of
that person will will be tested between
tomorrow because its sampling has been
done today so they would be tested
tomorrow and would be able to give more
information about contacts for that
person there are the three persons who
have died from the corona virus in
Jamaica our a 41 year old man from
Westmoreland with a travel history an
elderly man from Clarendon who returned
from New York and a recovering
coronavirus patient who suffered a
cardiac arrest at the University
Hospital of the West Indies they're
currently 63 confirmed coronavirus cases
in Jamaica and we
take a break on the midday news we'll be
right back please stay with us welcome
back continuing the news now the
country's public transport sector is
reeling under the curfew orders and the
requirement to carry fewer passengers
president of the Jamaica Association of
transport owners and operators de to
gave a glimpse of the sector to TVJ news
this morning more in this report in
terms of taxes they are required to
carry one passenger than they are
licensed to do that is the restriction
as of no so if they were licensed to
carry five they will carry four and if
they likes to carry seven they will
carry six that announcement from Prime
Minister Andrew Holness on March 16 in a
bid to contain the spread of a corona
virus but since then the revenue streams
for taxi operators especially in the
Kingston metropolitan area have seen a
drastic dip that's the word from head of
jitsu lui barton our estimate from
operations in the Kingston here for
taxis is that the businesses down by at
least 60% some guys served at 60% some
cases even worse than that
right so business mr. Barton says the
dip is due to a number of factors
including high gas prices data from
petegem showed gasoline prices are down
only 6% since the start of the year
while global oil prices are down more
than 60% at under $27 a barrel but
despite this he says he's in support of
the measures being instituted to quickly
continue overnight in locally in the
meantime Mr Bond is suggesting that the
government make some adjustments in
person that are required to wear masks
mr. Barton says public taxi operators
should be included here's why the
operation that require at least 2
million passengers a day now I think
that should be taken into consideration
when we talking about the restrictions
probably we should how we are all
operators most
we are a mosque this coronavirus shows
up the need for a new thinking as we are
ju TC which is what the government
really lookout us out for at one time we
are given special encouragement to do
this
do what carry special passengers but but
I'm saying that the taxi operators who
are not owned by the government all the
transport operators that are not owned
by the government
there should be looked at in especially
because they are carrying many jamika
machine masters TVJ news discrimination
continues to hamper the kovat 19
response in at least one parish
clarendon the authorities those they
despite that and other challenges there
undeterred here sprints more with the
details
known of proven 19 cases in Jamaica
shows grim reading four parishes such as
Clarendon the central parish
particularly the south eastern belt has
emerged as a battleground for the fight
against the pandemic Clarendon seem to
be the epicenter just know at least a
section of Clarendon and one case is a
concern but we are not frightened when a
panic in we just want to prepare as best
as possible the last few weeks have been
useful in doing just that
preparing officials say hospitals
located within the South East Regional
Health Authority Sarah are ready to
respond to Authority we are mandated to
have an isolation ward so we are doing
what we are we doing some ritual 15 so
all of them our isolation or there is
some retrofitting in all the hospital
wards so what we have now is luckily
have completed mandible Black River and
maybe a start so what we have holes Hill
some other persons here and then we move
them know in term and ever
and then retrofitting someone mere paint
so that we can other so yes all the
hospitals will be our they are accepting
Kavita mom
residents were also reminded of their
role in the fight namely to self
quarantine if they have traveled
recently or contact the authorities for
further assistance
but Member of Parliament for client and
South East / no Charles jr. feels the
latter measure is being impeded by
stigma discrimination is
counterproductive what it does is that
it pushes persons who are sick or who
are symptomatic to hide it pushes
persons who are within these ears and
trying their best to protect themselves
and protect the communities to be silent
we don't want that burns more TVJ news
there are still concerns about the
possibility of examinations for students
who would say to the Caribbean secondary
education certificate see second Cape
subjects this as the kovat 19 pandemic
continues to affect the Caribbean region
a few weeks ago the Registrar and CEO of
cxe dr. Wayne Wesley said the council
was thinking of having the exams in July
but based on predictions and what's
happening with the virus in the
Caribbean there's a likelihood that the
revised dates may also be missed
it's why president of the Jamaica
Teachers Association JTA windspeed says
other measures may have to be looked at
seems to me as if we will have to
consider in a very serious way using the
SBA squirrels and actually they they
recommended squirrels from our teachers
to come up with a grid and maybe just
matching that with the history of what
was recommended squirrels eventually
turned out to be and that is maybe a way
to go to avoid getting into the next
school year which would start in
September
and it's thumbnail for sports despite
securing a to nail victor over Bermuda
last month the wrecker boys remain 48th
in the April edition of the FIFA World
Rankings the Jamaicans also stay at
fourth in the CONCACAF region at and at
number one in the Caribbean Mexico
remains at number one in the CONCACAF as
they are eleventh globally while USA and
Mexico round out the top to Jamaica will
need to remain in the top six in the
region for another two months in order
to be automatically played in the
hexagonal round of World Cup qualifiers
meanwhile the top 10 team ranks
meanwhile the top 10 ranked teams in the
world reads Belgium France Brazil
England ergo i Croatia Portugal Spain
Argentina and Colombia
Jamaica's highest ever FIFA ranking was
27th and that was achieved in August
1998 and that's the midday news on
Vashon Brown join us at 7:00 for prime
time news package on behalf of the new
sports and production teams have a good
afternoon
