PM lashes politicians for stoking COVID fear
Prime Minister Gaston Browne has launched a scathing attack on “politicians who have inoculated themselves against the ravages of COVID-19” and continue to discourage persons from taking the vaccine.
In a radio and television broadcast on Monday night,
Browne also defended the police in their actions on Sunday, when they used teargas to break up an illegal protest march organised by the group, Freedom Fighters for Antigua and Barbuda. But the main opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) dismissed Browne’s concerns, saying that peaceful demonstrations had been allowed to take place across the region and the world, and condemned the decision of the police to deny the protesters the right to express their feelings. But Browne told the nation that the organisers of Sunday’s events wanted no peaceful protest and that they were engaged in a premeditated plan to create chaos and confusion in the country.
The government has been urging citizens to take the vaccine as it seeks to move towards herd immunity against the virus that has so far killed 43 people and infected 1, 348.
The Barbados-based Caribbean Climate Outlook Forum (CariCOF) says though the majority of the Caribbean region experienced above-normal rainfall in June, drought conditions are emerging in some parts of the region.
In its August bulletin, CariCOF said that the drought situation is predominantly affecting The Bahamas, parts of the Eastern Caribbean, the Guianas and Belize.
“Parts of the Eastern Caribbean and the Guianas, along with Belize, should closely monitor their ground water, reservoirs and rivers as November approaches,”
CariCOF added.
CariCOF noted, for example, that in Antigua and Barbuda, June is the wettest month so far on the island, but drought conditions continue.
June has become the only month of the year, thus far, to clock over two inches of rain. But serious meteorological drought continues. The rainfall for the last six months ranks among the worst on record. CariCOF says a drought warning should be considered for The Bahamas, while a drought watch should be considered for parts of Belize, Dominica, Martinique, and St Vincent.