As fears mount and countries begin to cut flights to China due to the quickly spreading Coronavirus, Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados Cleviston Haynes says that institution is keeping a close eye on the developments.
Warning that the spread of the deadly virus could have a major impact on the island’s bread and butter tourism industry, Haynes told reporters on Wednesday that he was hoping for it to be quickly contained.
The virus, which was first detected in Wuhan City, China, has already spread to other countries, with about 68 cases being confirmed outside of China.
The death toll has so far risen to over 130 in China with more than 6,170 cases confirmed up to Wednesday afternoon.
Responding to questions during his first economic review of the Barbados economy for this year, Haynes expressed concern that the Barbados economy was vulnerable.
“Because we are a small open economy we are exposed to several risks, not least of which are health pandemics such as the Coronavirus. Therefore, it is something we have to monitor,” said Haynes.
“At this stage it is difficult for us to gauge what the full impact could be, but from our perspective we hope that it can be contained because there is that risk that if it spreads it can hurt global tourism,” he said.
A number of major airlines including British Airways and United Airlines have announced cancellation of flights to China, as several major international firms halt travel to the Asian country due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“Clearly if it spreads its net widely then all markets or several markets can be impacted, not least our own. And not necessarily because we have it but these types of things create fear and concern and therefore, sometimes people prefer to stay in an environment which they know rather than one that they do not know. So that is a concern to us. We have to monitor it and hopefully we are able to contain this virus as quickly as possible,” said Haynes.
The infection has so far been confirmed in the US, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Cambodia, Singapore, France, Vietnam, Taiwan and Sri Lanka.
This afternoon the World Health Organisation (WHO) said it would be reconvening its emergency committee on Thursday to determine if the outbreak of the virus amounts to a public health emergency of international concern.
Local health officials have already given the assurance that the island had the necessary equipment and expertise to deal with any eventuality, adding that they were keeping abreast with the developments internationally.
The Governor reminded journalists that in addition to health risks, the struggling Barbados economy remained vulnerable to other external shocks including rises in oil prices, geopolitical tensions, the UK’s exit from the European Union and a slowdown in global economic activities, matters that should not be ignored.
“So there are a number of things, which individually and collectively, could have an adverse impact on your prospects,” said Haynes, while adding that the country should position itself to “take advantage” of upside risks when they present themselves.
He also expressed concern that the local crime situation had the potential to derail any gains being realized in the economy, which is currently in a strict International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
“It goes without saying that high crime levels can be a deterrent both for locals and for tourists. Let us hope that last year was an aberration, that does not repeat itself,” said Haynes.
Adding that crime and violence could be contributing to a number of factors including a weak economy, the top economic advisor said he believed some of what happened was associated with “a drug culture”.
“It is something we have to address. Some crime is associated with our inability to solve disputes. That is something we have to be able to work on from very young . . . So we have to approach it on every level,” he added.
Last year Barbados recorded 49 murders. So far this year there have been two.
