Anguilla’s Minister of Tourism, Mr. Hadyn Hughes, was among a number of panellists who participated in a Zoom discussion on April 7 on the topic: “What lessons were learnt from COVID-19 pandemic?”
During the online regional meeting of Tourism Ministers, he told the panel about the restrictions enforced by Anguilla to stop the community spread of the virus.
Those on the panel with him were: Tourism Ministers Denise Charles of Dominica and Lindsay Grant of St. Kitts. The moderator was Mr. Johnson John Rose, the Communications specialist with the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO).
The discussion topic was: “Have we learnt any lessons from COVID-19?” It was the first such CTO Zoom panel discussion during which each of the panellists reported on the precautionary measures taken in their territories and how effective they were.
Minister Hughes said in part: “We remained steadfast in resisting all of the external and internal pressures from professionals who wanted to maximise their profits. If we did not do that, where would we be at this time? I am sure that other destinations may have succumbed to those pressures, pulled back on their protocols and so they have had widespread community penetration…We also have to thank the people of Anguilla for ensuring that they did all they could so that there is no community penetration.
“If you have a guest at your resort, and that guest had been there for seven days and is using the services because he or she was tested COVID-free on arrival, and on the 7th or the 8th day…no one got COVID, it means that you, as an employer, was doing all that you needed to do…”
Among other matters, Minister Hughes spoke about the COVID-19 vaccinations undertaken so far in Anguilla and the manner in which the coverage was done.
