#BTEditorial – Staring into the abyss – or rest, reflect, renew

So went Day One of Lockdown No 2.

Ahead of us – 14 more days of shuttered retail, empty restaurants, family-only-gatherings from-the-same household, no get-together for lunch with friends, online learning, virtual meetings, and virtual church stare us in the face.

But the alternative could be deadly when one considers our spiralling cases of COVID-19 and the new variant of the sneaky virus that is not afraid to take prisoners.

Just today, regrettably we lost another Barbadian man who lost his battle to the viral illness.

We believe this lockdown, called for by so many, will save lives, and the more all of us take it seriously, the more quickly and effectively it will work.

Our health authorities have preached that the next two weeks offer us an opportunity to get the virus under control, not just for the period, but long term.

Health Minister Lt Col Jeffrey Bostic has assured the time will be used to improve contact tracing and identify some who might be sick without even knowing and indeed Operation Seek and Save was rolled out today.

On Tuesday, in her national address, Prime Minister Mottley lamented that not enough people were adhering to the protocols.

Said Mottley, “We need now to be able to spread the message to everyone. There are still too many people regrettably who are not wearing masks, there are still too many people who are gathering unnecessarily and I want to remind Barbadians that this thing is not playing, this thing is real and to that extent, I am asking every one of us to join the effort in being able to encourage persons in our communities, in our households.

“ This is not about hurting anybody or any shops being unfaired, it is fundamentally about being able to stop this virus from finding hosts, from finding people to go on and to go after.”

We don’t need law enforcers, a stern judge, heavy fines, a prison sentence, or worse yet, death to force us to protect our health and those we love.

Apart from the all-important task of beating COVID, we expect it will give the Government time to fine-tune its exit plan from the lockdown. Clearly, serious economic repair is badly needed in light of the drastic decline in jobs, revenue and overall economic activity.

But for now, we put lives above livelihoods, confident that we can get through this.

The PM puts it this way – rest, reflect, renew.

Hardly can anyone deny the need to REST.

But the daily demands of life in Barbados have not vanished.  We simply had to find new ways to cope with our jobs, our families, and ourselves.

Taking care of yourself is something so underestimated these days. Whether due to a lack of time or due to too much stress in everyday life or for whatever reason, people don’t devote enough time to themselves.

Put rest high on your agenda now we are required to stay put.

REFLECT. 2021 is still fresh and lessons of COVID-19 are glaring when we pause to reflect. Life is ever-changing and even more precious. Perhaps more than ever as individuals, families, Barbadians, we need to realign our priorities, our treatment of each other and how we value things that can disappear tomorrow.

COVID has shown us that we are all the same regardless of our religion, culture, customs, rich or poor. The virus simply does not choose. It has forced us to stay apart yet remind us that we need each other. We won’t win this fight unless all of us follow the protocols, wash hands, wear masks and keep our distance.

And finally, RENEW. There is no going back to the old. It’s time to innovate, set new goals, learn new skills, develop a new mindset.

During the first lockdown, new businesses were born. From the home-based mask-makers to creatives have taken their talent to the web.  We all can do it.

Locking down for the next 14 days isn’t ideal – but we’ll get through and hopefully emerge stronger.