Warning that the government may be forced to resort to “more stringent protocols”, Prime Minister Allen Chastanet has urged Saint Lucians to adhere to the current COVID-19 protocols. To date, Saint Lucia has recorded 141 COVID-19 cases and there are currently 109 active cases.
Ahead of Tuesday’s House of Assembly sitting, Chastanet was asked whether there was any plan to implement a mandatory curfew or a lockdown. Chastanet asserted that the only way the problem will be solved is by following the protocols, not shutting down the country.
“The protocols are constantly under review,” said Chastanet. “So in fact the Command Centre meets every single day. I know that they’re due to give us a new presentation later this week but I keep on saying to everyone, when we were being successful and I used to stand in front of you, I always said that this was a success that was shared by everyone in Saint Lucia.”
The prime minister credited Saint Lucia’s success as “one of the best places in the world” to the adherence to protocols. The same thing applies now, he stressed. “The protocols are there. If persons would adhere to the protocols, we will not have any difficulties and we’ll certainly be able to minimize the numbers,” he said.
“I mean I was travelling in the south this weekend and I was shocked. I mean I didn’t think that I was in Saint Lucia. Persons were in larger crowds than 25 people, people were overly socializing. This is not how we’re going to beat this situation. So again, I’m calling on all Saint Lucians: go to work and go home.”
He emphasized that socializing needs to stop for a period of time in order to prevent the virus from circulating and called on each citizen to play their part. “If that is not working, then sadly the government will have to resort to more stringent protocols in order to enforce that even to a greater extent. But the only way we’re going to solve this problem is not by shutting down this country, but is by causing persons to practice and follow the protocols that are being recommended to them.
He urged citizens to “stop thinking that you are superman.” Said Chastanet: “Stop thinking that you are individually immune from what is taking place. That is the solution and sadly it requires all of us to be all in on this…Persons who want to believe that COVID is fake, it’s not fake! It’s real! And we need to all come together as one, because it’s only by coming together as a group, as a country, that we’re going to solve this problem. There’s no miracle cure out there.”
