By Caribbean News Global contributor
CASTRIES, St Lucia (CNG Health) – In another so-called update to the nation, Tuesday, February 16, prime minister Allen Chastanet and participants chief medical officer Dr Sharon Belmar-George and deputy police commissioner, Milton Desir, at the COVID-19 command centre, succumb to a course correction of COVID-19 measures resulting from bad advice, impractical policy and ungovernable procedures.
In another amateur hour for Chastanet, he was forced to modify the curfew from 7:00 pm to 4:00 am, hitherto, unable to bring his over-inflated ego to put into practice the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) seven-point plan for a sustainable reset, comprising:
- Expand Testing and Tracing;
- Expand Treatment Capacity;
- Rethink Travel and Tourism Measures;
- Revise the Partial Shutdown;
- Protect our Education Sector;
- Quickly Implement a Vaccination Programme;
- Implement an Economic and Social Relief Programme.
In recent weeks farmers and fisherfolk aired their grievances on social media, radio and national television in the most profound way possible, using colourful Saint Lucia dialect, at the prime minister and his ill-defined Cabinet.
Notable, the Chastanet administration heard the voice of reason in an election year while on the campaign trail all over the island. Recently, he United Worker Party (UWP) majority in parliament rubber-stamped a State of Emergency (SEO) to May 16, 2021, under the guise of COVID-19 alarming cases, a crisis of their making in the doggedness to pandemic tourism and preferential economics, claiming “ we cannot close the country”.
Related: St Lucia: SOE – Curfew to restrict opposition campaign ahead of general elections
Course correction to bad COVID-19 measures
Tucked in the incompetence of prime minister Chastanet and participants, chief medical officer Dr Sharon Belmar-George and deputy police commissioner, Milton Desir, are “the latest changes to the measures previously approved for COVID-19 prevention and control which come into effect February 17, 2021, to March 16, 2021:
- Registered farmers and fisherfolk be included on the essential list of activities;
- Faith-based organizations may hold daily or regular religious ceremonies within the established protocols with numbers determined by the square footage of the building in keeping with a COVID-19 response plan approved by the ministry of equity;
- Faith-based organizations may hold special religious rites including weddings and funerals with a maximum of 25 persons in attendance;
- Suspension on sale and disposal of intoxicating liquor be maintained until February 24, 2021. Upon the lifting of the suspension, no consumption of intoxicating liquor shall be permitted on licensed premises, during the period February 25, 2021, to March 16, 2021;
- Restaurants and other food establishments shall operate ONLY with a take-away service;
- Commercial and business enterprises may be opened for business and permitted to operate within the established protocols, with minimal operation using a blended approach;
- Indoor and outdoor training and gym workouts be permitted within the established protocols, and prohibition on contact and non-contact competitive sporting activities shall remain in place.
- Measures shall remain in effect from February 17, 2021, to March 16, 2021.
Meanwhile, Dr Alphonsus St Rose has advised the government that, “we need an urgent course correction; political and economic expediency is a bad prescription. “In a pandemic, said Dr St Rose, “lives matter most, so we must prevent, contain and mitigate now.”
On Tuesday, February 16, 2021, the ministry of health reported COVID-19 related death #24, a 38-year-old male from the Castries. Also, 27 new cases of COVID-19 was confirmed from a batch of 81 tests conducted on samples taken on during the period February 1 to February 13, 2021. The new cases now bring the total number of cases diagnosed in the country to date to 2576.
Political and economic expediency a bad prescription, says Dr St Rose
UWP prohibition of Alcohol
However, the ministry of health is pre-occupied with advising the public on alcohol use and misuse during the COVID-19 pandemic, in a manner no different to 1920 – 1933, explained: “Alcohol is a harmful substance that has an adverse effect on one’s general health. The misuse and abuse of substances, including alcohol, will negatively impact the individual, family, and by extension, the community in the face of this pandemic. As such, the use of alcohol as a coping mechanism is discouraged. The misuse and abuse of alcohol can impact one’s mental health, leading to violent, anti-social behavior, and suicidal thoughts. In the face of the current pandemic, alcohol will weaken one’s immunity, thus reducing one’s ability to respond adequately and cope with infectious diseases, including COVID-19.”
[Suspension on sale and disposal of intoxicating liquor be maintained until February 24, 2021. Upon the lifting of the suspension, no consumption of intoxicating liquor shall be permitted on licensed premises, during the period February 25, 2021, to March 16, 2021].
