fbpx
Sharon Matola tributes continue in New York Times
April 9, 2021
Opposition Leader Patrick Faber demands an apology for being called “boy”, opposition leaves House of Representatives in protest
April 9, 2021

Pan American Health Organization assisting with response to St Vincent volcano eruption

Posted: Friday, April 9, 2021. 9:21 pm CST.

By Aaron Humes: It has been slow going, but thousands of the 20 thousand affected by today’s eruption of the La Soufriere volcano on the north of the island of St Vincent are being removed to other islands, the Pan American Health Organization reports.

Several commercial cruise ships are evacuating Saint Vincent residents to neighboring islands of St Lucia, Grenada, Barbados, and Antigua. The evacuation process has been difficult as visibility is very poor due to ash emissions, reports indicate. Some people are also being evacuated to shelters in safe areas within St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Evacuation and shelter operations elevate the risk for SARS-CoV-2 virus spread. Officials are administering COVID-19 vaccines and rapid antigen tests to determine active infection before entering facilities. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has reported 1,766 COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic among its approximately 110,000 inhabitants.

After several days of increased seismic activity at the La Sufriere volcano, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has issued a red alert and evacuation order for nearly 20,000 people who live in the northern part of the main island of St. Vincent, where the volcano is located.

PAHO/WHO, through its Eastern Caribbean office based in Barbados, is coordinating with Saint Vincent national authorities to identify critical needs and is supporting the Ministry of Health with technical advice on enforcement of public health measures, and with shipments of 150,000 medical masks, other personal protective equipment, medical supplies and test kits.

PAHO/WHO has already provided 60,000 medical masks, 7,000 respirators and 6,000 gowns to Barbados Defense Force emergency medical team to support a possible deployment of their military to perform emergency response activities.

The country´s National Emergency Management Operations (NEMO) has alerted of heavy ash-fall in areas surrounding the volcano, as well as gases and volcanic emissions, which signal stronger seismic activity.

The organization is also coordinating health emergency response actions with United Nations agencies in the Eastern Caribbean, Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and other international partners.

 

Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Belize ~ We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages. Your content is delivered instantly to thousands of users in Belize and abroad! Contact us at mаrkеtіng@brеаkіngbеlіzеnеwѕ.соm or call us at 501-601-0315.

 

© 2021, BreakingBelizeNews.com. Content is copyrighted and requires written permission for reprinting in online or print media. Theft of content without permission/payment is punishable by law.

Comments

  • Galen University
  • Belmopan Aggregates
  • larry waight
  • Belmopan Aggregates
  • cahal pech village resort
  • Galen University
  • Shindaiwa
  • Belmopan Aggregates