PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM):---The Collective Prevention Services (CPS), a government department under the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour, is reminding the community to remain proactive in removing mosquito breeding habitats in and around your yard or place of business after any rainfall event.

Source reduction is the key to decreasing the mosquito population.

A bite by an infectious Aedes aegypti mosquito spreads diseases such as Dengue, Zika, Chikungunya, Yellow Fever, and Malaria, and therefore it is crucial for every household to prevent its breeding.
Breeding sites are places where water can settle especially after rainfall events. Places, where water could settle, include tin cans, old tires, empty paint cans, buckets, old saucers, flowerpots, cemetery urns/vases, old pet dishes, unused plastic swimming pools or other containers that collect and hold water.
Every household and business must do their part to eliminate Aedes aegypti mosquito breeding sites.
Once again, it is very important to check around your yard and place of business to make sure there is no standing water after a rainfall event.
Contact the Vector Control Team at (721) 542- 1122 / (721) 542- 1222 / (721) 542- 1322 / (721) 542- 1540 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to report a mosquito nuisance or to request assistance.

PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM):--- Preparations are well underway around the world including the Americas to profile the importance of childhood vaccines.

Vaccination Week of the Americas (VWA) 2021, also referred to as World Immunization Week, will take place between April 24-30. This will be the 19th annual VWA and will take place under the theme, ‘Vaccines bring us closer. #GetVax.’

During the aforementioned period, public health agencies will aim to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease.

The Collective Prevention Services (CPS), a department of the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour, will be providing information to the community about the importance of childhood vaccines prior to the start of VWA, during the week and after profiling each vaccine and the benefits that come with each one.

According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Vaccination Week in the Americas, and as the World Health Organizations (WHO), “Immunization saves millions of lives every year and is widely recognized as one of the world’s most successful and cost-effective health interventions.

“Yet, there are still nearly 20 million children in the world today who are not getting the vaccines they need, and many miss out on vital vaccines during adolescence, adulthood, and into old age.”

VWA includes the participation of 45 countries and territories in the Americas.

Immunization prevents illness, disability, and death from vaccine-preventable diseases including cervical cancer, diphtheria, hepatitis B, measles, mumps, pertussis (whooping cough), pneumonia, polio, rotavirus, diarrhea, rubella, and tetanus.

~Company to host video essay competition and forum to encourage more girls to study STEM ~

Miami, Florida:--- Cable & Wireless Communications (C&W), the parent company of Flow, UTS, and BTC, in the Caribbean, is calling for more girls to pursue studies in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) as the company observes International Girls in ICT Day today.
The company is kicking off several activities across the region to encourage female students to consider careers in Information, Communications, and Technology (ICT) industries.
The ICT space continues to rapidly evolve, opening up a plethora of career opportunities, yet there are still concerns about the low representation of females in the sector.
“Globally, the percentage of females following a course of study in STEM education remains low. Girls in ICT Day is therefore an opportunity for us to continue connecting with our girls, to provide mentorship, and showcase careers in the sector, while connecting them to female pioneers in the industry. As we champion greater inclusion and diversity in the workplace, we are mindful of the need for more balance and female representation in our industry, and so our activities this year are geared towards that purpose,” said Inge Smidts, CEO of C&W, a leading communications, and entertainment provider and one of the largest employers of ICT, engineering and other technical workers in the region.
C&W will stage a video essay competition for female students, aged 12 - 15 years old, across the region. Participants will be asked to submit a 2 - 3minute video on the topic: “Why is it important for girls/women to pursue a career in ICT?”
Details will be shared when the competition opens on April 26 and winners will be announced at the company’s Girls in ICT Forum on June 8, 2021.
“Moving the needle on the number of females in the ICT sector will require our collective efforts. At C&W, we are doing our part to create a more balanced industry by supporting our girls and young women across the region as they make critical decisions about their career paths. Through this video essay competition and during our Girls in ICT Forum, we hope to raise awareness of
the opportunities available to young women and girls, provide resources to help them on their career journey, and share experiences from senior female leaders across the industry,” Smidts continued.
Over the years, C&W has staged various activities and partnered with a range of organizations on Girls in ICT Hackathons as it strives to increase the interest of female students across the Caribbean in the ICT field.
Girls in ICT Day 2021 is being marked under the theme, “Connected Girls, Creating Brighter Futures!” The day is an initiative of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which is geared at empowering and encouraging girls and young women to pursue STEM education, inspiring them to work in STEM careers, and also engaging the community while promoting collaboration through partnerships.

Pond Island:--- Telecommunications services on St. Maarten were hit for the second day in a row Thursday – this time due to a damaged SCCS undersea cable in St. Eustatius.
The outage occurred about 11:02 am Thursday and was quickly traced to a manhole in St. Eustatius, where work on repairing the damaged cable quickly got underway. Technicians and engineers responsible for the undersea fiber cable were able to transfer the connection to an alternative route, while the damaged cable was spliced and reconnected.

Technicians and engineers say the damage is not connected to another incident at approximately the same time Wednesday morning when international telecommunication services were also interrupted for just over an hour. That incident has since been traced to a damaged telecommunication card used in telecommunication equipment in St. Kitts, that has since been replaced.
The outage affected all fixed and mobile data services of TelEm Group with services being restored at approximately 1:27 pm Thursday afternoon.
TelEm Group says the outages on Wednesday and Thursday while occurring on two consecutive days are not connected.
“We once again take this opportunity to apologize to our customers and the general public for this second interruption to their telecommunication services, which once again was beyond our control,” said TelEm Group in a statement shortly after services were restored.