“We are going to make recommendations for the next [COVID-19] directive. I am not letting you know what those recommendations are, but we are looking to get on with life and make sure the vulnerable and the elderly are protected.”
– Chief Medical Officer Dr Kenneth George.
On Wednesday, we printed those words above when we reported that the Ministry of Health is preparing to make recommendations for further changes to the COVID-19 protocols. Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Kenneth George declared in an interview with this media house that “we are looking to get on with life”.
Inevitable as it may be, this is good news for Barbadians of all walks of life.
“If you have a permanent threat, you just have to change your responses to reflect the times of a permanent threat,” the government’s chief medical advisor said.
For the most part, Bajans have complied with the COVID-19 directives, under the Emergency Management Act, that have been in place since March 2020.
Some who have failed to comply have found themselves before the law courts.
But by and large, Bajans have stayed indoors when told to do so; they have closed their establishments when told to do so; they have adhered to the curfews and have been inactive when told to do; the larger part of the population has “followed the science” and gotten vaccinated and boosted.
In essence, Bajans have done what is within their power in order to “get on with life”. None of us like where we were two years or even a year ago. None of us wants to travel that road again. For anyone to believe that the majority would be reckless in their quest to “get on with life” is a bit misguided.
Some have argued that being locked away, hiding from the deadly virus is as life-threatening as the virus itself. Many experts have commented on the negative effects that being away from school will have on our next generation. It is clear, as the medical chief said, that the days of lockdowns and isolation are past us.
The CMO told Barbados TODAY: “The days of having restrictions of movement, etcetera, are over. We know too much about the virus. The schools are open [and] although there have been a few sporadic cases of infection, to date there has been no transmission of COVID within the schools.”
The COVID-19 numbers are trending downward and the positivity rate is slowly declining; however, health officials are still not ready to do away with masks.
“We are not at a situation where we can stop [the] mask mandate at this time. We will continue to review the evidence,” Dr George said.
Masks on or off, there can be no debate that we have come a long way in managing and living with this pandemic.
Some telling things continue to happen, though.
Most instructive this week was the Canadian Government lifting its vaccine mandate that affects domestic and international travel. Unvaccinated Canadians will be able to fly domestically and abroad as of June 20 as Canada suspends proof of vaccination requirements for travel. The move follows months of intensifying pressure on Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau to abandon COVID-19 public health restrictions.
Incoming foreigners, however, will still have to be vaccinated against COVID- 19 if they hope to enter the country, while unvaccinated Canadians must continue to adhere to quarantine guidelines upon arrival.
It would appear that some may have had a change of heart as it relates to many of the heavy-handed approaches which were apparent last year and caused great divide among our people.
The fact that tens of thousands have died over the last two and a half years can never be downplayed. The best way to honour the memory of a loved one is by the way we “live”.
Therefore, we agree with the Chief Medical Officer that any new protocols must be designed not to be restrictive or divisive but must allow people to come together, breathe easy, and live.
