A task force set up to help guide the region’s tourism officials through the COVID-19 pandemic, is urging the swift vaccination of those operating in the hospitality industry.
The task force, comprising top regional health professionals, the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), and the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), said there needed to be “continued diligence and adherence to public health safety protocols”. Moreover, those working in the sector, and are able to, should get vaccinated against COVID-19.
In a statement from the CHTA, it was noted that the Caribbean was generally successful in containing the virus, and that infections, hospitalisation, and death rates, were among the lowest in the world because of the ongoing response of Caribbean governments.
But while countries like the United States and the United Kingdom were relaxing many of their pandemic restrictions, the Caribbean task force has cautioned Barbadians and others in the region that “now is not the time to let down our guard”.
The CHTA statement said the next several months will determine how quickly the tourism-dependent region will be able to rebound.
It stressed that tourism was viewed by many as “the catalyst for getting people back to work and restoring much needed revenue that governments have lost due to the pandemic”.
And Dr Joy St John, who heads the Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), said in the CHTA release that the region was in a race against time, given the threat posed by mutations of the virus.
“Particularly given the presence of variants which spread more rapidly, we must adhere to health safety protocols lest we find ourselves moving backwards, rather than forward. We must remain diligent while we continue to accelerate vaccinations of our populations now that approved vaccines are becoming more available.
“We urge countries to continue to intensify their surveillance activities to rapidly screen, identify, test, quarantine, isolate and trace contacts of new cases; and for every resident and visitor to the Caribbean to do their part through physical/social distancing, wearing of masks, and practising proper hand hygiene.”
To those who were still hesitant about taking a COVID-19 vaccine, the senior Barbadian health professional, who spoke on behalf of the task force, said data overwhelmingly supported the safety of World Health Organisation (WHO) approved vaccines.
In additional to assisting regional destinations in developing health and safety protocols and advocating for harmonized, sound safety practices, the task force has assisted in the training of more than 5 000 managers and supervisors of hotels and tourism-related entities. (IMC1)
