During the weekly Government Press Conference of Monday, March 15th, the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Aisha Andrewin, acknowledged — like the PS, Foster Rogers — the hard work of the diligent lab team who conducted the testing of close to 400 visitors over the last weekend:
“I would like to echo the sentiments of the PS, Mr. Rogers,” she exclaimed. “The weekend (just past) was a testament to the quality of persons who are ‘unsung heroes’ in this effort. In every sphere of our endeavour, Anguilla has been so fortunate and blessed. We can tick all the boxes, after doing all that we have done to keep our island safe. No country could have gotten it perfect, but I think Anguilla has gotten it as good as it could have gotten.”
She commended the stability and consistency of the administration at large: “Through a transition and change of government there has been stability. There has been stability through a change of governors. We have had the phenomenal support of the UK and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, as well as Public Health England. There has been stability throughout.”
The CMO then took the opportunity to express how impressed she was, over the preceding weekend, to witness the professionalism and dedication of her health team: “Public Health England came here in December of 2019, just before COVID-19 hit, and they were assessing our laboratory capacity,” she recalled. “Provisionally, their assessments set the stage for us to be able to make the case for what we needed in the country. But on Sunday morning (March 14th) I still couldn’t believe it when I woke and realised how far our lab had come.”
“The UK lab technicians, who have worked so tirelessly with us, do not wish to be complimented,” she said, “but I must praise them for their noble efforts anyway. They have been remarkable in their performance every step of the way, and they have turned last weekend, which was most challenging, into one of the most rewarding weekends for me, personally and professionally. For this, I am sincerely grateful.”
Saturday, March 13th and Sunday March 14th were two highly productive days with regard to testing protocols. The CMO pointed out that the coordination efforts of Director Twyla Bradshaw-Richardson, and her team, produced a seamless operation. They had been working hard on both the Saturday and Sunday.
“By 1:00 a.m. on Monday,” the CMO said, “all the results were reported, and that is phenomenal. I am so proud to be working with these people…We have great talent here. We have dedicated health personnel who work diligently behind the scenes, and I am happy to continue working with them.”
With regard to the vaccination efforts, she noted that, up until press-time Monday, there had been 6,189 persons registered. She observed that registration had slowed down somewhat, and evidently the level was beginning the plateau, but at least the halfway point towards the goal was reached, and she encouraged those who had not yet register to get onboard. . She stated that, up to that point, some 5,111 persons had received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
– Staff Reporter, James R. Harrigan
