via menafn08/11/2020

Venezuela Parliamentary Elections: PCV & PPT Build 'Alternative' Left Alliance - MENAFN.COM

Mérida, August 10, 2020 ( venezuelanalysis.com ) – Two major Venezuelan left-wing parties have announced that they will not be backing government candidates in the upcoming December 6 parliamentary elections.

For the first time, the Homeland for All Party (PPT) and Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) are set to lead a broad alternative coalition for t

via caribbeannationalweekly08/07/2020

Amnesty International Condemns Repatriation of Venezuelans Who Entered Trinidad & Tobago Illegally - caribbeannationalweekly.com

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – International Human Rights watchdog, Amnesty International has condemned the recent repatriation of 165 Venezuelans who had entered Trinidad and Tobago illegally, citing the country’s commitment to international human rights agreements. In a statement issued Thursday, the organisation called the act an ‘outrageous violation’ of the country’s obligations to international laws. […]

via caribbeannationalweekly07/30/2020

Trinidad's Immigration Officer Warns Illegal Migration from Venezuela Could Increase COVID Cases - caribbeannationalweekly.com

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The Chief Immigration Officer in Trinidad and Tobago, Charmaine Gandhi-Andrews, Wednesday warned that illegal immigrants from Venezuela could be linked to the new cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) now being recorded in Trinidad and Tobago. Gandhi-Andrews told the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) virtual five-day virtual conference that […]

via gzeromedia07/21/2020

COVID lockdowns in Colombia forcing refugees to return to Venezuela - GZERO Media

GZERO World takes viewers to Colombia as Venezuelan refugees risk everything once again—this time to cross back into their home country. As pandemic lockdowns and economic downturn threaten jobs and livelihood in Colombia, many are left with no choice but to return to Venezuela and an uncertain future. Kendry Fernando tells his story as he walks hundreds of miles with his family, looking for work, and considering a return home to repressive conditions in Maduro's Venezuela.

via wmdt07/14/2020

The Latest: Venezuela's new coronavirus cases reach 10000 - 47abc - WMDT

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan officials say new coronavirus cases have surpassed 10,000 nationwide, with an alarming number of recent illnesses found in the capital of Caracas. President Nicolás Maduro on Tuesday ordered strict enforcement of quarantine measures in Caracas where most of the 303 new daily cases were diagnosed. Venezuela has been in a nationwide quarantine for 121 days starting shortly after the first cases were diagnosed in mid-March. Officials report fewer than 100 deaths. The South American nation hasn’t been overrun by the virus like neighboring Brazil and Ecuador,

via kusi07/14/2020

The Latest: Venezuela's new coronavirus cases reach 10000 - McKinnon Broadcasting - KUSI

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan officials say new coronavirus cases have surpassed 10,000 nationwide, with an alarming number of recent illnesses found in the capital of Caracas. President Nicolás Maduro on Tuesday ordered strict enforcement of quarantine measures in Caracas where most of the 303 new daily cases were diagnosed. Venezuela has been in a nationwide quarantine for 121 days starting shortly after the first cases were diagnosed in mid-March. Officials report fewer than 100 deaths. The South American nation hasn’t been overrun by the virus like neighboring Brazil and Ecuador,

via tampa.cbslocal07/11/2020

President Trump Visits South Florida, Discusses COVID-19, Schools And Venezuela - CBS Tampa

Skylar Henry reports from the White House that President Trump briefly addressed the coronavirus pandemic during a visit to U.S. Southern Command. President Trump confirms, "...before it hit, we were doing really well, and we're still doing very well but now we're getting back on track."

via gzeromedia08/11/2020

Hard Numbers: US hits 5 million COVID cases, Niger attack kills French citizens, Venezuela jails former US green berets, New Zealand's 100-day milestone - GZERO Media

5 million: The number of coronavirus cases in the United States surpassed 5 million on Sunday. That's double the number of cases in the country since the end of June, as states across the Midwest, the South and the West grapple with new surges. The US now accounts for one quarter of all COVID-19 cas...

via menafn08/04/2020

Venezuela's produce market is at centre of Covid-19 outbreak - MENAFN.COM

Venezuela capital Caracas' largest produce market is at the centre of a worsening Covid-19 outbreak, but cash-strapped merchants refuse to stop hawking food there for the city's 5mn residents, many of whom are starving.
Three days a week — down from six before the pandemic — some 10,000 people, including retailers and consumers, pack into

via worldpoliticsreview07/20/2020

As COVID-19 Ravages Latin America, Demands for Debt Relief Resurface - World Politics Review

As the coronavirus pandemic takes a terrible toll across Latin America, the region is increasingly facing a financial and humanitarian emergency. Pandemic-related spending is straining state finances, with most countries banking on emergency lending and a recovery next year to help them scrape through.

via outbreaknewstoday07/15/2020

Venezuela reports 300 new COVID-19 cases, Case total surpasses 10000 - Outbreak News Today

By NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews In the past 24 hours, Venezuelan health officials reported 303 new COVID-19 cases–281 community transmission and 22 imported cases. This brings the country total to 10,010. President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro said the bulk of the cases were reported from Miranda and the Capital District. Meanwhile, the head of […]

via voanews07/14/2020

For Venezuelan Migrants Living in Colombia, the Road Home is Paved with Mixed Messages - Voice of America

Ada Gutierrez has thought about returning to Venezuela every single day since Colombia went into quarantine in late March. Gutierrez, one of 5 million people who have fled crisis-stricken Venezuela, has spent months of quarantine in Colombia selling candy on the streets of Medellín, the country’s second biggest city. If she is lucky, she can scrape together enough money each night for her and her and her 18-month-old daughter to split a hotel room with other Venezuelan families.

via voanews07/13/2020

US Turns Screws on Maritime Industry to Cut Off Venezuela's Oil - Voice of America

Several companies that certify vessels are seaworthy and ship insurers have withdrawn services to tankers involved in the Venezuelan oil trade as the United States targets the maritime industry to tighten sanctions on the Latin American country. U.S. sanctions have driven Venezuela's oil exports to their lowest levels in nearly 80 years, starving President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government of its main source of revenue and leaving authorities short of cash for essential imports such as food and medicine. The sanctions are part of U.S.

via reuters07/09/2020

Venezuelan socialist party leader Diosdado Cabello has tested positive for COVID-19 - Reuters

Venezuelan socialist party leader Diosdado Cabello has tested positive for COVID-19, the official wrote on Twitter. Shortly after his announcement, President Nicolas Maduro said on state television Cabello would need several days of treatment and recovery, but that "he is already resting, he is fine." (Reporting by Sarah Kinosian Editing by Chris Reese)

via un.org08/04/2020

Dressmaker pivots to PPE with help from UNFPA Brazil | United Nations - UN News

Gislene Pereira, 51, is a dressmaker who lives in the outskirts of Brasília. Until COVID-19 struck, she used to make custom shirts for celebrations like birthday parties and uniforms for companies and churches. “All the orders I had were canceled. My whole production was shut down”, she said.

via voanews07/25/2020

COVID-19 Threatens Tens of Thousands of Venezuelan Refugees in Brazil - Voice of America

The U.N. refugee agency is increasing efforts to protect tens of thousands of Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Brazil and the communities hosting them from the COVID-19 pandemic, which already has claimed nearly 83,000 lives in the country. Brazil is the second worst affected country in the world and the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America.

via who.int07/15/2020

WHO and UNICEF warn of a decline in vaccinations during COVID-19 - World Health Organization

GENEVA/NEW YORK, 15 July 2020 – The World Health Organization and UNICEF warned today of an alarming decline in the number of children receiving life-saving vaccines around the world. This is due to disruptions in the delivery and uptake of immunization services caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to new data by WHO and UNICEF, these disruptions threaten to reverse hard-won progress to reach more children and adolescents with a wider range of vaccines, which has already been hampered by a decade of stalling coverage. The latest data on vaccine coverage estimates from WHO and UNICEF for 2019 shows that improvements such as the expansion of the HPV vaccine to 106 countries and greater protection for children against more diseases are in danger of lapsing. For example, preliminary data for the first four months of 2020 points to a substantial drop in the number of children completing three doses of the vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP3). This is the first time in 28 years that the world could see a reduction in DTP3 coverage – the marker for immunization coverage within and across countries. “Vaccines are one of the most powerful tools in the history of public health, and more children are now being immunized than ever before,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “But the pandemic has put those gains at risk. The avoidable suffering and death caused by children missing out on routine immunizations could be far greater than COVID-19 itself. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Vaccines can be delivered safely even during the pandemic, and we are calling on countries to ensure these essential life-saving programmes continue.” COVID-19 disruptions Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, at least 30 measles vaccination campaigns were or are at risk of being cancelled, which could result in further outbreaks in 2020 and beyond. According to a new UNICEF, WHO and Gavi pulse survey,  conducted in collaboration with the US Centers for Disease Control, the Sabin Vaccine Institute and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, three quarters of the 82 countries that responded reported COVID-19 related disruptions in their immunization programmes as of May 2020. The reasons for disrupted services vary. Even when services are offered, people are either unable to access them because of reluctance to leave home, transport interruptions, economic hardships, restrictions on movement, or fear of being exposed to people with COVID-19. Many health workers are also unavailable because of restrictions on travel or redeployment to COVID response duties as well as a lack of protective equipment. “COVID-19 has made previously routine vaccination a daunting challenge,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “We must prevent a further deterioration in vaccine coverage and urgently resume vaccination programs before children’s lives are threatened by other diseases. We cannot trade one health crisis for another.”  Stagnating global coverage rate Progress on immunization coverage was stalling before COVID-19 hit, at 85 per cent for DTP3 and measles vaccines. The likelihood that a child born today will be fully vaccinated with all the globally recommended vaccines by the time she reaches the age of 5 is less than 20 per cent. In 2019, nearly 14 million children missed out on life-saving vaccines such as measles and DTP3. Most of these children live in Africa and are likely to lack access to other health services. Two-thirds of them are concentrated in 10 middle- and low-income countries: Angola, Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Philippines. Children in middle-income countries account for an increasing share of the burden. Progress and challenges, by country and region There has been some progress. Regional coverage for the third dose of DTP in South Asia has increased by 12 percentage points over the last 10 years, notably across India, Nepal and Pakistan. However, that hard-won progress could be undone by COVID-19 related disruptions. Countries that had recorded significant progress, such as Ethiopia and Pakistan, are now also at risk of backsliding if immunization services are not restored as soon as feasible. The situation is especially concerning for Latin America and the Caribbean, where historically high coverage has slipped over the last decade. In Brazil, Bolivia, Haiti and Venezuela, immunization coverage plummeted by at least 14 percentage points since 2010. These countries are now also confronting moderate to severe COVID19-related disruptions.   As the global health community attempts to recover lost ground due to COVID-19 related disruptions, UNICEF and WHO are supporting countries in their efforts to reimagine immunization and build back better by: Restoring services so countries can safely deliver routine immunization services during the COVID-19 pandemic, by adhering to hygiene and physical distancing recommendations and providing protective equipment to health workers; Helping health workers communicate actively with caregivers to explain how services have been reconfigured to ensure safety;Rectifying coverage and immunity gaps; Expanding routine services to reach missed communities, where some of the most vulnerable children live.### Notes to editorsDownload photos , the report, data files and b-roll from UNICEF here or from WHO here. After 2pm CET 15 July, read the analysis of the data in this report,Are we losing ground? or browse the full vaccine coverage datasets from UNICEF or at WHO’s webpage.  Review presentation and graphs related to the data here. About the data 2019 IMMUNIZATION COVERAGE ESTIMATESEvery year, UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) produce a new round of immunization coverage estimates for 195 countries, enabling a critical assessment of how well we are doing in reaching every child with life-saving vaccines.  In addition to producing the immunization coverage estimates for 2019, the WHO and UNICEF estimation process revises the entire historical series of immunization data with the latest available information. The 2019 revision covers 39 years of coverage estimates, from 1980 to 2019. DTP3 coverage is used as an indicator to assess the proportion of children vaccinated and is calculated for children under one year of age. The estimated number of vaccinated children are calculated using population data provided by the 2019 World Population Prospects (WPP) from the UN. Fact sheet.IMMUNIZATION PULSE SURVEY, JUNE 2020The new UNICEF, WHO and Gavi pulse survey was conducted in collaboration with US Centers for Disease Control, the Sabin Vaccine Institute and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in June 2020. Respondents from 82 countries, including 14 with lower than 80 per cent vaccination coverage rates in 2019, reported on disruptions in immunization services due to COVID-19 as of May 2020.  The online immunization pulse survey received responses from 260 immunization experts, including representatives of Ministries of Health, academia and global health organizations across 82 countries. A previous pulse poll, conducted in April received 801 responses from 107 countries, showed that disruption to the routine immunization programs were already widespread and affected all regions. 64 per cent of countries represented in that poll indicated that routine immunizations had been disrupted or even suspended. The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing. For updates on COVID-19 and public health advice to protect yourself from coronavirus, visit www.who.int and follow WHO on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat, YouTube. More on vaccines and immunizationGuiding principles for immunization activities during the COVID-19 How WHO is supporting ongoing vaccination efforts during the COVID-19 pandemicThe vaccines success story gives us hope for the futureUNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone. For more information about UNICEF and its work for children, visit www.unicef.org. For more information about COVID-19, visit www.unicef.org/coronavirus. Information on UNICEF’s Immunization programme, available here. Follow UNICEF on Twitter and Facebook.

via hrw.org07/15/2020

Stuck at Venezuela's Border with Covid-19 All Around - Human Rights Watch

“If you give them 100,000 [Colombian] pesos you can get tested [for the novel coronavirus]. If you pay $150, you can get on a bus to any part of the country,” a 48-year-old Venezuelan who is stuck at the border told us recently, although he can’t afford to bribe the Venezuelan officials to let him through.

via pulitzercenter.org07/14/2020

Ivermectin and COVID-19: A Venezuelan Doctor Uncovers a Fraud - Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting

Two studies indicated that ivermectin reduced mortality rate by 80% in covid-19 patients, but Venezuelan doctor Carlos Chaccour was skeptical. He looked at the underlying database built by American company Surgisphere and found errors. This is the story of what happened next.

via voanews07/11/2020

Coronavirus Hits Dozens of Latin Leaders, Including Presidents - Voice of America

The coronavirus pandemic is sweeping through the leadership of Latin America, with two more presidents and powerful officials testing positive this week for the new coronavirus, adding a destabilizing new element to the region’s public health and economic crises. In Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro, 65, announced his illness Tuesday and is using it to publicly extol hydroxychloroquine, the unproven malaria drug that he’s been promoting as a treatment for COVID-19 and now takes himself. Bolivian interim President Jeanine Añez, 53, made her own diagnosis public Thursday, throwing her already