BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - WITH increasing numbers of confirmed cases of COVID-19 popping up across the island, the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is working to change its approach to fighting the outbreak.
Within a three-week span, the territory recorded more than 300 cases of the virus with several deaths reported, and Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves is calling on all to take a serious approach to combat the spread of the deadly virus.
While updating the nation yesterday (Jan. 22) morning, Gonsalves reminded that up to December 27 there were 110 cases but that number has since ballooned to more than 400.
The spike is being attributed to a number of reasons, from large gatherings to increased airport arrivals and recurrent breaches of quarantine.
Against that backdrop, the Prime Minister urged no panic but called for an understanding of what new measures must be implemented to curb the problem.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, like Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana and St. Lucia, has seen recent spikes in COVID cases.
According to Gonsalves, appropriate measures must be taken at this time and not those that are acted upon by emotions.
“It means, therefore, that in a particularly small country like this, we have to build a consensus and everybody has to buy into it,” added Gonsalves.
Many regional leaders, whose territories have seen spikes in their COVID-19 numbers, have acknowledged lapses in the way quarantine protocols have been handled. And the SVG PM noted that there are people who overate the law in the territory when it comes to behaviour that runs counter to the natural social behaviour of many.
“And we also have to address the issue as to how we carry the fight in a liberal democracy,” he noted.
Government sources in some of the islands that have seen increased COVID-19 acknowledged that in some instances the protocols and laws are not as stringent as those found in St. Kitts and Nevis, which may be the reasoning behind the spikes.
One source in Barbados highlighted that prior to the latest outbreak on the island, the territory’s security protocols for guarding COVID-19 quarantine sites were not as stringent as those found in this Federation.
That, the source noted, is one of the reasons why several tourists were able to escape quarantine in Barbados and went shopping.
