PREVENT MOSQUITO BREEDING DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS
PUBLIC NOTICE
The Ministry of Health, Agriculture, Sports and Human Services urges persons to help prevent mosquito breeding during the summer months
Dengue, chikungunya and zika are all vector borne diseases primarily spread by the bite of an infected aedes aegypti mosquito. The symptoms of the three diseases vary slightly but can all include fever, headache, muscle pain, joint paint and rash. Persons experiencing these symptoms, which typically last several days to a week, are urged to consult a physician.
Over the last few years all three vector borne diseases have emerged in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). In response to these vector borne diseases, the Ministry has implemented a number of measures including increased public education, enhanced vector control measures and surveillance which have been successful in reducing the disease burden. The good news emanating from these strategies is that the last case of chikungunya was confirmed on October 28th 2014 and the last case of zika on January 3rd 2017 in the TCI. Thus, the TCI has not seen a positive case of chikungunya in nearly 4 years and has not seen a positive case of zika in about 18 months.Even dengue, which is more common in the TCI, has been on the decline in recent months.
One particular concern when it comes to zika is its ability to also spread during sexual intercourse and from mother to fetus during pregnancy. Scientists suspect that zika transmission during pregnancy can increase the risk of fetal brain defects such as microcephaly. In the TCI, there has been one case of zika in a pregnant woman in 2016. The mother delivered without complications and both mother and infant are doing well.
Despite this positive news, the Ministry of Health, Agriculture, Sports and Human Services (MHASHS) would like to take this opportunity to remind the general public not to be complacent. With the summer months, come conditions where mosquitoes thrive, grow and reproduce. Visitors and residents alike are reminded to take the following preventative measures:
- Keep your environment clean and free from standing water where mosquitos breed: including tires, bottles, cans, gutters, tree stumps, pets' bowls, flower pots, etc.
- Avoid being bitten by wearing loose long sleeved shirts and long pants
- Apply insect repellent to exposed skin
- Use mosquito nets when sleeping
- Use safe household insecticides indoor
- Have intact window and door screens in dwellings
- Use condoms to prevent the spread of zika during sex
The MHASHS is also doing its part to prevent the spread of mosquito borne diseases, including:
- Mosquito control exercises such as fogging, larvaciding and treatment of active swamps.
- Premises inspections to find sources of mosquito breeding and target for removal/remediation. Notices are issued to those who fail to comply.
- Removal of derelict vehicles and old appliances, which can serve as breeding sites.
- Clean-up campaigns to mobilize communities to take the lead in keeping their environments clean and free from breeding sites.
- Public awareness campaigns to educate residents on what they can do to prevent vector borne disease.
- A series of vector borne disease workshops to update stakeholders on the latest prevention/ control techniques and to brainstorm methods of enhancing the national strategy.
- Enhanced surveillance to monitor and detect clusters of vector borne disease for the purpose of timely intervention and response.
For further information, kindly contact the Health Promotion and Advocacy Unit on 338 5231 or the Environmental Health Department on 3382143/44.
Google executive warns of face ID bias
Facial recognition technology does not yet have "the diversity it needs” and has “inherent biases”, a top Google executive has warned.
The remarks, from the firm’s director of cloud computing, Diane Greene, came after rival Amazon’s software wrongly identified 28 members of Congress, disproportionately people of colour, as police suspects.
Google, which has not opened its facial recognition technology to public use, was working on gathering vast sums of data to improve reliability, Ms Greene said.
However, she refused to discuss the company’s controversial work with the military.
“Bad things happen when I talk about Maven,” Ms Greene said, referring to a soon-to-be abandoned project with the US military to develop artificial intelligence technology for drones.
After considerable employee pressure, including resignations, Google said it would not renew its contract with the Pentagon after it lapses some time in 2019.
The firm has not commented on the deal since, only to release a set of “AI principles” that stated it would not use artificial intelligence or machine learning to create weapons.
Vibeke Skofterud: Former Olympic champion dies in jet-skiing accident
Olympic cross-country skiing gold medallist Vibeke Skofterud has died in a jet-skiing accident at the age of 38.
The Norwegian won 4x5km relay gold at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010 and was also a two-time world champion in the discipline.
Skofterud was reported missing on Saturday, and her body was found by rescuers near the island of St Helena, southern Norway on Sunday.
The Norwegian Ski Federation said her death was an "inconceivable tragedy".
"Our life-loving Vibeke is gone. Our thoughts go to Vibeke's family and her closest," said national team director Vidar Lofshus.
As well as her titles, Skofterud won silver and bronze at World Championship level, and finished on the podium 15 times at World Cup events.
Tour de France 2018: Geraint Thomas wins to make sporting history
Sporting history was made on the Champs-Elysees Sunday as Geraint Thomas became the first Welshman to win cycling's Tour de France.
Arm-in-arm with 2017 champion and Team Sky teammate Chris Froome, the 32-year-old Thomas crossed the finishing line after the 21st and final stage in Paris in triumph.
His eventual victory had been a mere formality after Saturday's individual time trial stage which left him with a one minute 51 second advantage over second-placed Tom Dumoulin of the Netherlands.
Jamaican Parliament Approves Minimum Wage Increases
The House of Representatives in Jamaica has approved two motions that will increase the national minimum wage and the minimum wage for industrial security guards.
The motions, which fall under the Minimum Wage Act and were piloted by Labour and Social Security Minister Shahine Robinson, were the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Order, 2018, and the Minimum Wage Industrial Security Guards (Amendment) Order, 2018.
In June this year, Robinson announced a 12.9 per cent increase in the national minimum wage, from J$6,200 (US$46.71) to J$7,000 (US$52.73) per 40-hour work week. Additionally, security guards will receive J$9,700 (US$73.07), up from J$8,854 (US$66.70) per 40-hour work week, reflecting a 9.6 per cent increase.
Robinson said the new rates, which were approved by Cabinet, will take effect August 1, 2018.
She said laundry allowance for industrial security guards, firearm premium allowance, and dog handlers’ premium allowance will also be increased
Indonesia volcano: Hundreds of hikers trapped after earthquake
Nearly 700 people are trapped on a volcano on the popular Indonesian tourist island of Lombok, after a devastating earthquake killed more than a dozen people.
A rescue operation is currently underway for tourists caught in landslides on Mount Rinjani. According to National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, 689 people are still trapped on and around the 3,726 meter (12,224 ft) mountain following the shallow 6.4-magnitude earthquake that struck Sunday morning.
At least 260 people had already been evacuated by Sunday afternoon, Sutopo said on Twitter, while a spokesman for Rinjani National Park said another 109 had been rescued as of 2 p.m. local time (3 a.m. ET) Monday afternoon. 149 climbers are still believed to be stranded on the volcano itself, while 500 people are trapped in Sembalun Village on the volcano's slopes, and an additional 40 tourists are in nearby Batu Ceper.
At least one climber had died after being struck by falling rocks, Sutopo said.
A rescue team of 184 people set off Monday morning to evacuate the hikers, including special military, police and medical teams.
So far 15 people across the island have been reported dead following the earthquake, while another 162 have been reported injured, according to Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency.
Spanish taxis block roads in 'anti-Uber' protest
Taxi drivers across Spain have joined a strike against ride-hailing companies like Uber, demanding the government restrict their numbers.
The striking taxi drivers, some of whom have been camping out for days, say the services threaten their livelihood and are putting thousands of jobs at risk.
As a result, they have blocked main roads in the capital, Madrid, and in Barcelona with their parked cars.
A meeting on Monday to attempt to end the strike failed to reach a deal.
Taxi unions want the government to enforce a law which requires just one ride-hailing licence for every 30 taxi licences.
The government offered to give licensing powers to each of the regions during a four-hour meeting. This was rejected by taxi representatives, who say it would not fix the issue, but just pass it along.
Union representatives said in a statement that "Uber and Cabify are putting the viability of the taxi sector and 130,000 jobs at risk", adding it "considers this unfair competition intolerable".
Zimbabwe election underway as polls open in first Mugabe-free vote
Zimbabweans are voting in what many hope will be something the country has never seen before: a free and fair election, without the interference of former leader Robert Mugabe.
The landmark vote has been touted as the first time the African nation will hold an election without the former strongman in almost four decades, but although Mugabe is not on the ballot, his influence continues to be felt.
The now-disgraced 94-year-old could not resist stepping back into the political arena on the eve of the vote. In his first major political statement since being ousted from office last November, Mugabe said he would not vote for his former party Zanu-PF or the current president, Emmerson Mnangagwa.
At stake in the landmark presidential election is a chance for Zimbabwe to finally shed its reputation as a pariah state, and move to a democracy free from international sanctions.
The country, which suffered crippling hyperinflation under Mugabe, desperately needs the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to start giving it loans again. It also needs the United States, European Union and others to lift sanctions.
But those restrictions will remain in place until a free and fair election takes place -- anything less, and in international eyes at least, it may as well be Mugabe still in power.
Trump threatens shutdown over wall, immigration
President Donald Trump threatened Sunday to push the government into a shutdown ahead of the coming spending deadline in September if Congress does not fund his border wall and change the nation's immigration laws.
"I would be willing to 'shut down' government if the Democrats do not give us the votes for Border Security, which includes the Wall! Must get rid of Lottery, Catch & Release etc. and finally go to system of Immigration based on MERIT! We need great people coming into our Country!" Trump tweeted.
Trump has previously floated the possibility of a government shutdown over border security and immigration, and on Sunday he made his threat explicit, saying he would do so unless Congress funds his proposed wall, which he promised Mexico would pay for, and puts in place his preferred immigration policies. "They don't want the wall," Trump said. "But we're going to get the wall, even if we have to think about closing up the country for a while."
A shutdown over Trump's wall at the September deadline would mark the third lapse in appropriations this year, following a shutdown in January as Democrats battled with the Trump administration and congressional Republicans on protections for "Dreamers" as well as a brief shutdown when Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky blocked a spending vote.
Delano Williams to participate in Europeans Championship in Berlin, Germany
Our very own Delano Williams making strides... Keep up the great work!
Delano's statement
"It's with great pleasure that I announce my selection for Great Britain to the Europeans Championship in Berlin,Germany. I am taking part in the 200m and 4x4 relay. Life has a way of turning things around in the right direction. I want to say thanks to my Sponsors Flow TCI and Nike for believing in me and giving me an opportunity to showcase my talent to the world. My day one supporters who show me love daily , friends and family I say Thank you. 2 years until the Olympics in Japan and that's my main focus."