(PR) – For several weeks now, the COVID-19 crisis in SVG has gotten worse with each passing day. Over 1300 confirmed cases have been recorded in SVG since March 2020, the vast majority within the last 6 weeks.
There are now over 800 confirmed COVID 19 cases and six known deaths from the disease in SVG.
The government has been slow and indecisive in combatting the spread and, for no apparent good reason, even resisted characterizing the outbreak as community spread.
Calls from the Leader of the Opposition, Dr. the Honourable Godwin Friday, and others for more effective measures such as the mandatory wearing of masks in public and provision of more isolation facilities to assist persons with COVID-19 have been rejected out of hand and even ridiculed by members of the government.
The recent announcement by the Ministry of Health to admit the reality of community spread and to make the wearing of masks in public places mandatory and restrict the numbers of persons in public transport vehicles, rum shops and restaurants shows a reversal of the government’s position.
Though late, the announcement is a step in the right direction as the measures, if properly enforced, can reduce the spread of the disease.
