Back in late January and into early February there was much criticism of government from the usual quarters for what was described as its unpreparedness in the face of the coronavirus. Some went so far as to say the prime minister had decided not to stop traffic into the country so as to facilitate horse racing by a much maligned Chinese investor. Then there was the brouhaha involving a Russian national admitted to Victoria Hospital who, it was falsely claimed, had tested positive for coronavirus. The bearer of good news on the occasion, CMO Sharon Belmar-George, was accused by the government’s detractors of covering up the truth.
Not many countries can boast about successful measures taken against the spread of COVID-19. As Opposition leader Philip J. Pierre pointed out at last week’s NEMAC meeting, “the government of Taiwan could be contacted to assist in our testing . . . to advise us, because Taiwan seems to have controlled that disease very well.” Pierre has not been alone in his assessment of the Taiwanese. His assessment brought to mind a STAR report entitled: “St. Lucia Shouldn’t Take Just a Page from Taiwan’s Response to the Coronavirus: We Should Grab the Whole Book!” It underscored how the reaction of the Taiwanese people to government-imposed restrictions had contributed to the country’s relative success in its fight to control the spread of the disease. “If public establishments in Saint Lucia were to require patrons to submit to hand sprays, what might be the public reaction?” asked the STAR.
The government weeks ago imposed a 14-day quarantine on passengers coming in from high-risk countries. Earlier this week, border restrictions were further tightened, with all but essential personnel being denied entry to the country from overseas.
Unfortunately (predictably?) more than a few of us have turned that STAR hypothetical into nightmarish reality. Beyond whether we would practise good hygiene in this critical time, many have taken to breaking the quarantine, and aiding and abetting those who flout the recently imposed border restrictions. This is how the prime minister on Monday on NTN addressed the regrettable truth: “We saw people scaling walls, being undisciplined at airports, refusing to go into quarantine. I want to make a special appeal to Saint Lucians tonight. The coronavirus does not discriminate. Rich or poor, farmer or business-person, young or old, we’re all susceptible. This is why the protocols we’ve put in place since Friday call for us to practise social distancing. This is why the government has decided to scale down our commercial activities, in order to reduce the number of people exposed to other people and consequently bringing the virus to their homes.”
With the lethal coronavirus dominating the world news, the prime minister was left little choice but to issue a further appeal for local help in the government’s efforts to save Saint Lucian lives: “Individuals who are illegally coming in from Martinique—and we saw that happening this weekend where people came over on boats . . . How is it we cannot understand by doing that we’re exposing the entire country? If the virus spreads through the community, no one has any special protection. You’re not going to be favoured over another person. Why would you bring someone in that’s going to be a threat to society and affect an entire community? The ill-advised behaviour we saw this weekend, and have seen prior to this, needs to stop. I say to you that you are exposing our most valuable resources—our police officers, our nurses, our doctors, our emergency personnel, fire officers and government servants—when they have to come into contact with more individuals than necessary. The risk of them catching the virus increases exponentially. I’m begging you to stop behaving so selfishly. Think of others. Think of the people you love.”
How ironic that the very prime minister who barely a month ago was accused by local tin foil hat wearers of keeping our borders open for the benefit of “undeserving foreigners”, now had to be scolding the nation for not abiding by the rules laid down for its protection. Thankfully, it hasn’t been all bad. There has been much public pushback against those who would threaten the country’s safety for selfish gain.
Philip J. Pierre in parliament this week added his voice to that of the prime minister: “We have to look at what got us there. It pains me when I hear the grief in the prime minister’s heart when he said Saint Lucians refused to listen to what will benefit them. We have to ask ourselves, why? Why is there such mistrust and division in a country of 165,000 people? Why can’t people understand that these measures have been put in place, not because anybody hates them, but for their own health?”
