Health & Science

• Tuesday, March 24th 2020 - 08:12 UTC

  Falkland Islands cruise vessels' humanitarian operation

  

  The Falkland Islands Government announced on Monday it is assisting a number of cruise vessels seeking to repatriate their passengers to other countries through air charter flights. Working with our partners at the British Forces South Atlantic Islands, a policy has been put in place that allows this humanitarian operation, while still protecting our population from COVID-19.

• Monday, March 23rd 2020 - 07:00 UTC

  Gibraltar creates a specific Covid 19 special fund of up to £500 million

  

  The Gibraltar government could borrow up to 500 million pounds for Coronavirus aid if the community requires it in the coming months. This news came before parliament unanimously passed the emergency budget bill which will help cushion the negative economic effects the virus will have on the peninsula.

• Monday, March 23rd 2020 - 06:43 UTC

  World Water Day, everyone has a role to play, Antonio Guterres

  

  The world’s water resources are under unprecedented threat. Today, some 2.2 billion people lack safe drinking water and 4.2 billion people live without access to adequate sanitation. Unless we act with urgency, the impacts of climate change are projected to exacerbate these figures. By 2050, between 3.5 and 4.4 billion people will live with limited access to water, with more than 1 billion of them living in cities.

• Saturday, March 21st 2020 - 09:25 UTC

  Falklands moves to next COVID-19 response; March 26 referendum postponed for six months

  

  The Falkland Islands Government on Friday moved to the next stage of its response to the global COVID-19 situation. While there are still no confirmed cases on the Islands, the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Rebecca Edwards, says it is now likely COVID-19 is present here.

• Saturday, March 21st 2020 - 09:17 UTC

  Cabo Verde closes all borders and restricts flights; Falklands air link disrupted

  

  Authorities of Cape Verde have closed all sea borders and have restricted flights from the UK, US, Canada and a number of other European countries from 18 March. As of 18 March, only a restricted number of flights are allowed into the country to enable visitors to return home. This follows confirmation of a Covid 19 case in the former Portuguese colony.

• Saturday, March 21st 2020 - 09:09 UTC

  London's support for Falklands to deal with the impacts of the pandemic

  

  In a display of support from London, the UK Government announced it is working closely with the Overseas Territories to ensure they receive the help that is necessary to face the challenge and consequences of Covid-19.

• Friday, March 20th 2020 - 09:50 UTC

  Falklands and Covid 19: no positive cases identified; GCSE exams suspended; limited medevacs

  

  The Falklands weekly Penguin News this week published a summary of releases, decisions, recommendations and overall strategy of the Islands facing, as in the rest of the world the challenge of Covid 19. The big news is that the Falklands until this week, had no positive tested cases of the virus and that so far there is sufficient health care capacity and expertise to face the situation.

• Friday, March 20th 2020 - 09:47 UTC

  Brazil closing all land borders except with Uruguay, and banning entry from EU and Pacific countries

  

  Brazil on Thursday announced it was closing land borders and prohibiting entry to people from European and many Pacific Asian countries to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, as Mexico and Peru reported their first virus deaths.

• Thursday, March 19th 2020 - 08:59 UTC

  Coronavirus: Argentina unveils stimulus package; ample support from the political system to the strategy

  

  Argentina unveiled this week a 700 billion Pesos (some US$10 billion) stimulus package to try to sustain economic activity, avert shortages of food and medical supplies, help companies and protect workers and vulnerable groups affected by the worsening Covid 19 pandemic.

• Thursday, March 19th 2020 - 08:58 UTC

  Coronavirus: Mercosur members coordinate actions and frontier movements

  

  Mercosur country members agreed on Wednesday to share information and statistics on the coronavirus evolution as part of a common strategy destined to combat the pandemic, which included facilitating the return of ex-pats and ensuring the movement of goods among the block.