Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams joined with Council of Peoples Organizations (COPO), the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), faith leaders, and community advocates representing diverse communities throughout the city to demand the City’s outreach regarding the COVID-19 pandemic reflect the diversity of New York, taking into account those who do not access traditional forms of media, those whose first language is not English, and others.

Borough President Adams and participants called on the City to invest a portion of its outreach funding in ethnic media outlets serving communities throughout the city. They also urged the City to make its real-time updates via NotifyNYC available in languages other than Spanish and English, to ensure all New Yorkers are being reached during this unprecedented public health emergency. 

“We can’t communicate with people where we want them to be, we have to communicate with them where they are,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. “As I speak with people throughout the five boroughs, I am continually struck by how frequently crucial information about the COVID-19 pandemic is not reaching certain communities. We have to ensure that our outreach is available to all New Yorkers. That’s why we are calling on the City to broaden its outreach, offering updates on the spread of the virus and basic tips on how to keep people and their loved ones safe in a variety of different languages, and engaging ethnic media as partners in this effort to keep everyone informed. We will beat this virus only by coming together. Our diversity is our strength, and it is needed more than ever at this challenging time.”

“In times of such uncertainty, it is imperative that together, we remain united. Today, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams has assured ethnic communities across New York City that they will be recognized during this crisis. In solidarity, we will reach out to these communities by supporting ethnic media and outreach, as well as recognizing the diverse languages throughout our city. We will continually work together to support all communities impacted by COVID-19, and we forever remain dedicated to making Brooklyn strong,” said Mohammad Razvi, Chief Executive Officer of COPO.

“The Melquain Jatelle Anderson Foundation would like to thank all the first responders and essential workers across the city for showing great strength and courage during this pandemic. We acknowledge your fear while admiring your selflessness and commitment to keeping our community safe while doing your best to help those who fall victim to the COVID-19 virus. We ask that our communities do their part by practicing social distancing and not leaving their homes if they can avoid doing so. We must protect one another by following the conditions put in place to keep all of us safe. In efforts to ensure individuals internalize the severity of this pandemic, we must have information disseminated throughout ALL communities in all languages. NYC is a diverse community and English is not always the first language. We must provide information that can be read and comprehended by ALL,” said Xenia Barnes, Chief Communication Officer of the Melquain Jatelle Anderson Foundation.

“These days I am working so hard as volunteer to ensure that people who don’t speak English in our community understand in the law, directions, and how to get support if they need. It works well, but I think it is not enough to reach more people with different ethnicities and language. New York is a city made up of multiple languages and ethnicity. And NOW, we need the ethnic media so New Yorkers get the proper information about COVID-19, along with the support they need, especially in this time,” said Yasmeen Atef, President of the Yemeni Women’s Association of the United States of America.

“During this pandemic, we must stay safe, but we must also make sure that all our communities are taken into account. I was proud to join Borough President Adams today to send the message that we all must get the support and information we deserve,” said Anthony Beckford, Flatbush and East Flatbush Community Advocate.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state’s presidential primary election will be postponed from April 28 until June 23 amid coronavirus fears.

“I don’t think it’s wise to be bringing a lot of people to one location to vote,” Cuomo, a Democrat, said Saturday during a news conference. He also extended the state’s tax filing deadline to July 15.

Over 52,000 people have been confirmed to have Covid-19 across New York, Cuomo said. The state has tested a total of 155, 934 people.

The US surpassed Italy and China this week to become the country with the most coronavirus cases in the world with more than 102,963 known cases, according to CNN’s tally. At least 1,590 people have died in the US, with at least 402 of those deaths reported on Friday alone.

Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise declared a state of health emergency, following the confirmation of two cases of COVID-19.

Moise said the country’s ports, airports and borders would be closed to people although they would remain open for goods traffic.

Schools, universities, places of worship and industrial parks are closed, and a curfew would be in force from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. as of Friday, March 20.

The president said schools, voodoo temples, churches and all other places of worship will remain closed until further notice.

He said the government will also make the appropriate arrangements to provide hospitals with masks, gloves, medicines, fluids and all other necessary medical supplies.

Citizens are asked to stay home or limit their trips only to what is necessary and Individuals coming from risk areas will be automatically placed in quarantine for a period of 14 days.

One of the last Caribbean nations to remain free of COVID-19, Haiti has suspended flights from Europe, Latin America and Canada and imposed major restrictions on the border with the neighboring Dominican Republic earlier this week in a bid to prevent the disease’s entry. It is expected more people will contract the dreadful disease in Créole speaking nation

Effective March 21, 11:59pm, U.S. citizens cannot enter Grenada due to COVID-19.

According to Grenada’s government, there are no coronavirus cases in Grenada.  

In its updated travel advisory, the government says Grenadian nationals and residents will be allowed to enter the country but must be self-quarantined for 14 days upon arrival in Grenada. 

Effective March 20 at 11.59 pm, if you are not a Grenadian national and in the last 14 days you have been to Iran, South Korea, China or anywhere in Europe (including the United Kingdom), you will be refused entry into the country.  

Included in the travel restrictions, Grenadian nationals and non-nationals alike arriving from any other destination outside of the stated list will be screened upon entry and self-quarantined for 14 days.  

The government says this action is necessary as widespread respiratory illnesses caused by COVID-19 have been reported in Iran, South Korea, China, the USA, and Europe.  

Meanwhile, Grenada’s Ministry of Health says before disembarking passengers must complete a declaration form on their health status.  

Passengers are also required to check in daily with the Ministry of Health regardless of their point of origin.  

Individuals will also be quarantined or isolated if they become asymptomatic during their stay in Grenada.  

Several Caribbean countries have tightened up on visitor arrivals with travel restrictions in a bid to combat the spread of COVID-19.  

Cricket, one of the most popular sports in England and countries once colonized by England, is on hold due to COVID-19. India, Pakistan, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and other nations have suspended league and test matches. The West Indies Test team was scheduled to tour England and Whales in summer and Australia in late 2020.

     As a result of the rapid and deadly spread of coronavirus disease, EVERYBODY’S, the Caribbean-American magazine, has postponed the performances of the new Oliver Samuels play, “Crazy But True,” scheduled during the last two weeks of May and early June.

    The health of our patrons and the public comes first.

    Performances in New York City – the boroughs of Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn – and in the states of NJ, CT, PA, MA and MD are on hold.

     We cannot give new dates and venues until the COVID-19 becomes manageable and normalcy returns to public life.

   Fans who paid for Oliver tickets during the Christmas-New Year season to be sent as gifts and organizations that gave deposits for group sales, if you wish, we will return your payments or hold the payments.

   Before announcing the postponement of “Crazy But True” we alerted several cherished Oliver fans and patrons of Caribbean comedy-theater.

    “Why postpone in March when the play is in the end of May and early June?” many queried.

  That’s a reasonable question. Here’s the answer.

1.    We do not want to sell tickets and then postpone the performances.

2.    Why wait until the government makes it mandatory to postpone events especially when the venues are educational institutions?

3.    Preparation for Oliver Samuels annual plays classified as off-Broadway shows begins in November when we apply to the union representing Broadway and film actors for labor approval.

4.    By December application is sent to the U.S. Immigration Services seeking Work Permit. If, or when, it is approved around Feb/March in the U.S., it is then sent to the U.S. Embassy in Jamaica to interview the cast before issuing the Work Visa which takes another month or more.

5.    By April approximately 80% of expenses have been paid such as insurance, venue rentals, airline, hotel, immigration, set building, promotion and advertising.

    Nobody knows if in May/June the COVID-19 will be raging thereby forcing more governors to declare a state of emergency.

   It is far better to postpone the play now rather than later.

Although Caribbean prime ministers met to discuss the uncontrollable Coronavirus and to take aggressive measures to curb it when the disease arrives in their respective countries, a counsel general in New York asked EVERYBODY’S Magazine, “What is the fuss all about in the U.S.?”

Here are measures taken in Grenada.

Ministry of Health Meets with GHTA Stakeholders to Discuss COVID-19 Strategies

ST. George’s Grenada W.I.—March 11^th, 2020- The Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, The Ministry of Health, Caribbean Health and Tourism Association (CHTA) and Grenada Hotel & Tourism Association (GHTA) met with stakeholders to discuss COVID- 19 strategies as it relates to the tourism industry.

The meeting was held on Friday, March 6^th, 2020 at the Cricket Stadium in Media Level Room 2 and included members of hotels, restaurants, marinas, banks and staff. Present were Chairman of the GTA, Mrs. Brenda Hood, Chairman of CHTA, Mr. Frank Comito, CEO of the GTA, Ms. Patricia Maher, CEO of the GHTA, Ms. Arlene Friday, Ministry of Health Spokesperson, Dr. George Mitchell and other key representatives of the Ministry of Health and tourism community.

Mr. Comito shared relevant regional resources that CHTA offers on its website,   http://www.caribbeanhotelandtourism.com/covid-19/ as it relates to COVID-19.  These include:

• Online resources to the  latest press releases and traveler guidance information
•  Access to CARPHA’s (Caribbean Public Health Association) Tourism Information Health System – a confidential monitoring system for hotels and allied partners
• Access to coordination and collaboration information as it relates to regional governments and institutions
• Best practice and policies to mitigate risk for hotel workers and allied partners
• Free online COVID-19 training course offered by the World Health Organization (WHO)

Dr. Mitchell shared the Ministry of Health’s objectives.  These include:

• Strategic Objective #1- Education and Awareness – the government is currently targeting schools and organizations to raise public awareness
• Strategic Objective #2- Surveillance and Monitoring- the government is monitoring people traveling to Grenada from areas with active transmission to minimize public risk
• Strategic Objective #3- To Build Partnerships with Stakeholders- the government is ensuring that constituents are fully informed and information is shared amongst its members
• Strategic Objective #4- Enhancing the Health of the Immunocompromised- the government aims to optimize the health of the most vulnerable populations, which includes providing medical home visits to the elderly
• Strategic Objective #5- Enhancing Education of the Medical Staff and Physical Facilities- the government have been training staff and have ordered more ventilators, respirators, and a machine to test for COVID-19

The Ministry of Health shared the latest global trends as it relates to the transmission rates and reminded the participants that Grenada remains on High alert. As a result, the ministry appealed to the GHTA and its constituents to remain calm and to continue to share all pertinent information to its members and staff. For added convenience, the Ministry of Health plans to launch an APP to assist with easy accessibility to information and to expedite the government’s medical response.

The Ministry of Health and CHTA offer the following recommendations:

• Please contact the COVID-19 Helpline before going to the doctor if you suspect that you might have COVID-19. (538-4787 or 53-VIRUS)
• Hoteliers & Allied Tourism Partners are advised to register to the Tourism Information Health System if you suspect that one of your guests has COVID-19

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdr7X1niAYiaU1l3AyQvRwoLxHrPpJcijvdN9M2tV4eNw20KQ/viewform

By the end of March all households across the U.S. will receive detailed information about how to respond to the 2020 Census online, by phone, or by mail.  All persons living in the U.S. whether they are citizens, permanent residence or have various immigration status are required to be counted.

The census is much more than counting the population of the U.S. The data from the census is used by the federal, state and municipal governments to allocate revenues, created electoral boundaries and even determine where interpreters must be sent at poll sites across the U.S.

For example, if 300,000 French speaking Creole reside in Silver Spring, Md. but they did not fill the census form, the government will not know that the area has a large Creole speaking community. Therefore, no French speaking interpreters will be sent to poll sites there to assist French speaking Creole. On the other hand, if all 20,000 Bengali speaking Indians living in Silver Spring participated in the census, the federal government will know that interpreters are required at poll sites to help Bengali voters who cannot speak English.

EVERYBODY’S March issue has an article by Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City about the importance of the census to his city.

The South Asian and Indo-Caribbean community in conjunction with New York Immigration Coalition recently held a roundtable meeting to focus on the critical importance of the census in determining billions of dollars for education, healthcare, housing, transportation, and more, as well as ensuring that all New Yorkers from all backgrounds are fully represented in the nation’s once-in-a-decade count of its populace.