Prime Minister and Minister of National security, Dr. the Right\u00a0 Honourable Keith Mitchell has identified a need to get tougher with the enforcement of\u00a0 COVID-19 protocols.<\/p>\n
Dr. Mitchell\u2019s comment comes against the backdrop of persons and businesses not fully\u00a0 implementing or complying with the recommended protocols.<\/p>\n
During his interview on the television programme, Perspectives, Dr. Mitchell said, \u201cWe\u00a0 have to be tougher in a general sense going forward, but we need everybody on board in\u00a0 dealing with this.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister spoke specifically about facilities providing quarantine for returning\u00a0 nationals and visitors, some of which he said did not operate as agreed, thereby creating\u00a0 potential risks for persons.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cThe problem of compliance extended to several quarantine facilities where\u00a0 persons did not demonstrate the anticipated level of responsibility, forcing Government in\u00a0 some instance to issue warnings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Mitchell acknowledged that some have advocated for a full lockdown when the recent\u00a0 cluster was detected, but lockdown he explained, has its own its repercussions. He said,\u00a0 \u201cOne has to be extremely careful when you talk about limiting people\u2019s basic freedom and\u00a0 rights, you must have overriding reasons to do it. I believe we were doing reasonably\u00a0okay and did not see the need to create other serious problems that could emanate from\u00a0 lockdown.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister further explained his rationale. \u201cIn dealing with this major issue, there\u00a0 are several dimensions that must be taken into consideration. Of course, the health issue\u00a0 must be number one, but you cannot get away from the social consequences of the\u00a0 decisions that we make because we are human beings. There are economic\u00a0 considerations as well because we must have resources to take care of the problems that\u00a0 we have, and if we cut off everything, we would not have resources and that would create\u00a0 another problem in the society. And clearly, there are also political considerations<\/p>\n
because we are a multi-party democracy and therefore people have different views, so\u00a0 we have to be careful in taking decisions and ensuring that people understand the\u00a0 decisions that you make.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Mitchell also acknowledged the fluid nature of the pandemic and the need to\u00a0 constantly adjust. He said, \u201cThe key thing going forward is what we do when people get\u00a0 here so we may have to re-examine the quarantine procedures. We may have to re examine the question of testing after four days, maybe we have to use a much longer\u00a0 period before we give medical clearance. It seems to me we have to re-examine our\u00a0 procedures and protocols and make some changes that we believe are necessary to\u00a0 protect the people of this country. This is a dynamic situation we are facing so we have\u00a0 to adjust.\u201d<\/p>\n
In all of this, Dr. Mitchell said, while Government has a responsibility to lead the fight against COVID-19, there must be compliance and everyone must be on board fighting\u00a0 this dreaded disease.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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