As we begin another week, it is with a concerned heart, that I wish to address my fellow Turks and Caicos Islanders and residents alike on what has changed our way of greeting each other and on what is the center piece of every conversation – the Coronavirus.
With the recent breaking news by our Government that there are 2 suspected cases of Corona-Virus and 13 persons quarantined, I invite us all to consider our own position for our families and our communities.
Firstly, the civil servants and our healthcare professionals are doing the best that they can – I commend them for the work that they are doing. We must hope for the best but prepare for the worst. We depend on tourism – where travel may become restricted – we have to begin to prepare for the hit. The countries that handle this the best are those that identify and contain the cases early.
The way the world media is leading the news has contributed to our people being fearful as if doomsday is looming. It’s important that we do not panic – we must be rationale. There are 13 times more cured cases than deaths and that proportion is increasing. This is cause for our people to be hopeful and not fearful.
One of the things that we have control over is the way we communicate with our people. In order to reassure our people of hope, the daily Covid-19 Update flyer should be amended to add “Number of People Recovered” which the current data as of March 15th 7:00am showed to be 73,968 according to data from the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.
The problem is we don’t control nor do we have any say in the global narrative. With the USA ramping up its protectionist efforts and issuing travel warnings and bans, our country has to appear proactive otherwise it could lead to TCI being banned by the USA. Any ban or confirmed cases that are not handled in a proactive way could lead to a halt of ships to our country from USA- severe revenue losses and a host of knock on effects such as damage businesses, delayed openings, jobs, cars and home losses.
What we do have some control over is how the USA and Canada sees us – So we must engage the travel hubs of these countries and develop systems of response together – so that way we are less likely to be banned!
This time calls for leadership. Our current leaders need to engage in a series of activities that can bring calm to our people and ensure that our people do not panic. I would suggest that the following must be done immediately:
1. Urge all seniors over the age of 70 to remain home and avoid large gatherings. We know the virus is the most dangerous for older people.
2. Close hospitals and seniors homes to visitors.
3. Urgently review quarantine procedures at hospitals and seek additional ICU beds with respirator capacity.
4. Create mobile or in-home testing units to minimize risk of spread and ensure previous hospital resources are protected for those truly in need.
5. We should invest in large recreational quarantine facilities , special quarantine area of hospitals, testing/quarantine database and mobile clinics for each settlement on each island complete with sufficient testing kits and respirators.
6. Must consider making arrangements for all of our students studying abroad to return home, should they wish to do so and if not provide financial relief for them remaining. This should be done sooner rather than later as a host of countries are closing their borders.
Our leaders must also urgently address the possible economics and other consequences for TCI families:
7. Meetings with grocery stores owners & agree for them to import sufficient food supplies – reduce or delay the import duties payable on these goods to a date to be agreed or after the Coronavirus vaccine is produced.
8. Engage the three farms on North Caicos to embark on a rapid expansion project –
a. Provide equipment to the three farms in North Caicos;
b. Provide financial subsidies package inclusive of seedlings;
c. Provide 100 blanket work permits per farm so they can be able to hire immediate help to work on these farms.
9. Must engage the Government of the Dominican Republic to secure direct access for shipping of goods and supplies.
10. Must meet with banks & lenders to agree a way forward to ensure our people don’t lose their homes and their transportation. If necessary, we must pass immediate legislation – to make it law that the banks and all mortgage finance companies put a moratorium/ temporary freeze on all loans – should it be necessary for persons to stop going in to work
11. Banks should be asked to consider increasing available loan portfolios and launch up to $30,000.00 unsecured loan programs.
12. Must meet with power company and water company to agree that our power and water will not be turned off – as these are bare essentials for living. If necessary, pass a coronavirus subsidies bill, where the govt will subsidize these services at reduced rate agreed by power & water – must also ensure these service providers stock up with 1 years supply of fuel to keep our power on.
13. Must grant an amnesty of payment of NHIP & NIB so that way our people would not be denied access to healthcare nor the collection of their NIB check
14. Ensure that NIB is in a position to make funds available to its contributors in the event that we are unable to go to work;
15. Put a freeze on collection of business license fees and all other government fees that falls due during this period of uncertainty.
16. Establish a testing center on island; Organize to have a minimum of 75,000 diagnostic test kits on the island; organize broad mobile diagnostic testing;
17. Consider launching electronic delivery of education to school children should schools have to be shut.
18. A wholesale review of all the industries must be conducted and implement proactive measures to minimize the economic fall out from any mandatory order that may be issued for stay home quarantine for all citizens;
19. Undertake a review of all designated government buildings for quarantine for Provo as the designated Blue Hills Clinic could prove to be too small. Name a quarantine building for each island.
If these measures are implemented this way we will minimize the disruption to our people lives in a world that may already be in recession. I urge that we come together and implement these measures now in order to save our people and save our country.
I leave you with these parting words of comfort from the book of Psalms 91:5 – 7 , 5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
