Have we learned the lessons of 2020, and are we using those experiences to help guide us as we near the end of 2021?
The question is about how we as a country manage our desire to enjoy the traditional year-end celebrations and to do so in a way that is safe and allows us to be alive and healthy in 2022.
There has been subdued celebration of the fact that the island’s positivity rate for COVID-19 infections was in the four-percentile range.
We at Barbados TODAY, like every citizen and entity in this country, are breathing a sigh of relief that our COVID-19 infection rate seems to be heading in the right direction. Though it is not at the level of single digits we experienced in the early part of the last quarter of 2020, it is still welcome news, nonetheless.
We are pleased with the falling incidents of confirmed infections. We, however, cannot but feel a bit of anxiety despite the reassurance that the country’s infection rate is on a downward trajectory.
The total number of deaths has reached 255, with just under 200 people in Government’s isolation facilities, and another 1,396 COVID-19 infected people isolating at home.
“I don’t want to say that we are out of it yet, but we are very happy that the figures are coming down,
“We have been seeing some signs in terms of a reduction in the number of COVID-19- positive persons who were presenting to the Accident & Emergency at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital after they became ill. The numbers at the Harrison Point Isolation Facility are down as well, so we are seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, but we have not reached the end yet.
“One has to bear in mind that 50 or 60 cases a day is still a lot for a small country,” Minister of Health and Wellness, The Most Honourable Lt. Col. Jeffrey Bostic was reported in the media as saying.
His cautious but optimistic stand is expected. He has been in the trenches for almost two years along with workers at public and private health care facilities across Barbados.
Bostic has even hinted of a phased reopening of the economy next year, including the possible return of children to schools which have been shuttered for months.
We want nothing more than to share the hope that our country can emerge from this COVID-19 malaise that has stunted its economic and social progress for an extended period.
Members of our cultural industries are certainly welcoming the ease of the curfew that has been offered to allow for year-end celebrations.
Entertainers and those who provide support services to the various forms of cultural and entertainment events, have been enduring a torrid time with their income sources ripped from under them in one fell swoop.
However, despite all this, we cannot help but ponder on the current impact of the disease on jurisdictions in North American and Europe where COVID-19 infections are rising to levels only seen at the height of the disease.
This situation has now forced businesses in the United Kingdom to take the pre-emptive action to close themselves down and not wait for the British Government to order them closed.
In fact, some pundits have suggested this is the last thing that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to do given the implications of such on the economy and his own political survival.
Reports from our most important source market for tourists is not appealing. Restaurants and other venues in the United Kingdom are deciding they have no choice but to close early for Christmas due to a flood of cancelled reservations and concerns about infection levels among employees in the food service, entertainment and hospitality sector.
The British Government sees the closures as “a new threat to the economy and a headache” for the Prime Minister, nearly two years into the pandemic.
These British businesses indicated that when cases are high enough, the Brits are still likely to avoid going out, despite widespread pandemic fatigue.
At the same time, England’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty has advised people not to mix with others unless absolutely necessary.
What does all this portend for us?
There is a real fear that the excitement about the coming winter season being one that triggers a re-emergence of the Barbados economy, might be short-lived because the COVID-19 cases are rising so rapidly despite the high vaccination rate among travellers, as well as the 140 000 Barbadian residents and citizens who are fully vaccinated.
It may well be a case this Christmas of hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.
