SAN JUAN — Puerto Rico’s governor announced this week that officials will start vaccinating all those 16 and older beginning Monday, prompting celebrations across the U.S. territory facing a spike in COVID-19 cases. Currently, only people 50 years and older as well as anyone 35 to 49 with chronic health conditions are authorized to receive […]
Category: Health News
MAIN OFFENDER! Limetree Bay Under Fire From Feds Over Pollution Concerns
CHRISTIANSTED — The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency modifying its 2011 consent decree with HOVENSA, the prior owner of St. Croix’s troubled oil refinery, now owned by Limetree Bay Ventures and ArcLight Capital. The motion requires Limetree to assume some of the operating requirements HOVENSA agreed […]
Puerto Rico To Close Schools On Monday To Curb COVID-19 Surge
SAN JUAN — Puerto Rico’s health secretary announced Thursday that all public and private schools in the U.S. territory would close for two weeks amid a surge in COVID-19 cases. The closures would go into effect April 12, roughly a month after some 100 of the island’s 858 public schools were authorized to reopen for […]
Pandemic Forces 62-Year-Old Women Into Sex Trade In Mexico … Just To Buy Food
MEXICO CITY — Hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic have forced former sex workers in Mexico back into the trade years after they left, made it more dangerous and reduced some to having sex in cars or on sidewalks for lack of available hotels. Claudia, who like most of the sex workers interviewed asked to […]
Top Execs Jumping Ship From Troubled Limetree Bay Refinery On St. Croix: Letter
CHRISTIANSTED — The finance chief and two other top executives at Limetree Bay Ventures, operator of a long-stalled local oil refinery, are stepping down, according to an internal letter reviewed by Reuters. The 200,000-barrel-per-day refinery in St. Croix recently halted processing after “a mishap,” according to people familiar with the matter. It has run more […]
Climate Change Is Devastating Marine Life As The World’s Oceans Warm: Report
BRIDGETOWN — Tropical open-water species — animals that swim freely throughout the ocean — have declined by about half between 1970 and 2010, according to a new report published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers found that species that have limited ranges or stay still, such as coral, have declined as […]
Singapore Becomes A Global Cruise Leader, For Now
SINGAPORE — Singapore currently accounts for a third of the world’s cruises its tourism body said today, owing to the roaring success of its “cruises to nowhere” at a time of crisis in the industry globally. Cruises have yet to restart in many parts of the world after taking a beating from the coronavirus pandemic, […]
Norwegian Cruise Line To Start Caribbean, Greek Isles Trips In July
SANTO DOMINGO — Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd said on Tuesday it would begin sailing outside the United States from the Caribbean and Greek Isles in July, restarting trips after a year-long hiatus brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company had appealed to federal health authorities on Monday to allow sailing from U.S. ports […]
Traveler From Florida Given COVID-19 ‘Treatment’ At Landing … He’s Arrested
FREDERIKSTED — There was a time when visitors to the St. Croix airport were greeted with a warm smile, a Cruzan Rum punch and a map of the island. But one traveler arriving to Henry E. Rohlsen Airport from Florida was given the COVID-19 “treatment” upon landing — he was arrested. On the heels of […]
Bryan Asks CDC To Rescind No Sail Order; Bipartisan Group Of Governors Signs On
CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A bipartisan team of governors from five states and Puerto Rico have signed-on to a letter that Governor Albert Bryan sent to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, the chairwoman of President Biden’s COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, asking the CDC to issue updated regulations to […]