By Caribbean News Global contributor
CASTRIES, St Lucia – Fresh on the heels of pontificating Thursday, December 24, 2020, the ministry of health (MOH) received a batch of 87 test results, all of which were negative, comes confirmation that: “Over the course of the Christmas weekend between December 24 and December 27, 2020, a total of 314 COVID-19 tests were conducted by the Ezra Long Laboratory, from these the MOH received confirmation of 26 new cases of COVID-19 bringing the total number of cases diagnosed in country to 331.”
Based on reports by Caribbean News Global (CNG) it is not surprising that the island has broken three records within 45 days.
On Tuesday, December 22, 2020, the ministry of health and wellness received confirmation of 16 new cases of COVID-19. This brings the total number of cases diagnosed in the country to date to 303. This follows Thursday, November 19, when the ministry of health (MOH) received confirmation of 20 new cases of COVID-19.
As reported Tuesday, December 22, ‘Saint Lucia continues to import COVID-19 from other parts of the world’ COVID-19 and the variant SARS-CoV-2 strain will inevitably increase.
The policy of the government of Saint Lucia, at odds with best practices, reiterated December 22, 2020, “We can confirm that our borders remain open to international visitors including arrivals from the UK,” says, Dominic Fedee, minister for tourism.
St Lucia continues to import COVID-19 from other parts of the world
The reality is such that the impact of the COVID-19 UK variant is yet to surface. There are more unfavourable news to come, as Saint Lucia continues to lag on science, date and acceptable methods of international repute; meanwhile policymakers are hell-bent on non-scientific and flimsy corporate interest to direct the affairs of the country.
St Lucia’s economy performed worse in the entire OECS, says opposition leader Pierre
Meanwhile, leader of the opposition Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) Philip J. Pierre, has asked Saint Lucians’ to reflect on whether their lives have improved since the United Workers Party (UWP) government came into office in 2016.
Addressing the 70th annual conference of delegates of the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) in a virtual format Sunday, November 15, 2020, Pierre invited Saint Lucians to answer several questions which would indicate whether the quality of their lives had improved since 2016.
These include:
- Do you feel safer now than you did in 2016?
- Are products in the supermarkets more affordable now?
- Are you satisfied that your children are receiving a better education now?
- Are your chances, especially the youth, of securing better and more meaningful employment better now than 2016?
- Are you satisfied with a government that refuses to provide medication at the hospitals but uses resources to construct roads to nowhere?
- Are you satisfied with a government that allows foreigners to use our resources for profit while Saint Lucian families are hungry and children cannot attend school?
- As a banana farmer or fisherman do you feel more confident about the future and your livelihood?
- As a small business person, has your income increased?
- As a worker, do you feel more secure in your job?
“Saint Lucia’s economy has performed the worse in the entire Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)” namely St Vincent 5.55 percent to 7.8 percent, St Kitts 8.1 percent, Antigua 10.8 percent, Grenada 8 percent and Dominica 4.7 percent, all lower than that of Saint Lucia.” Pierre further illustrated that “regrettably but not surprisingly, we are now experiencing the effects of abuse of power, vindictiveness and misguided government policy decisions. Many of the ills of the society today, in particular crime, have been exacerbated by the current administration’s disregard for the rule of law and good governance.”
St Lucia opposition leader determine to ‘put people at the center of economic policy’
Offering reassurance on the expectation of an SLP government to ‘put people at the center of economic policy’ Pierre, affirms: “The SLP will find the required resources to ensure that the quality of life for Saint Lucians improves and that wealth creation becomes a realistic objective for many Saint Lucians.”
The full text of the address by Philip J Pierre at the 70th annual conference of delegates of the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) delivered virtually, Sunday, November 15, 2020, is available here.
