Hurry slowly. How many times have we heard that phrase? It is often used to remind us that even in situations of urgency, we must exercise caution. Many of us have benefitted from heeding this simple advice while many others have ignored it to their detriment. However, no words could be more apt in summarising what our approach should be as we seek to reopen our borders to visitors – hurry slowly.
All of us want things to go back to normal as quickly as possible. No one enjoys wearing masks, no one wants to be restricted from travel or normal social interaction, and no one wants to live in a depressed economy. At the same time, everyone wants to be safe and healthy. While we appreciate the importance of welcoming visitors back to our shores to improve our economic situation, many are concerned about the reopening protocols which seem to be changing daily.
Anguilla had what seemed to be a robust reopening plan, which was predicated on reaching certain vaccination levels and achieving herd immunity. Those levels having not been realised to date, one must wonder why the timing for reopening was not adjusted. Many had doubts about the announced protocols for reopening on 1st July 2021. They seemed to not be in keeping with the cautious approach which has characterised the health team’s response to the pandemic. The loophole we all feared, manifested itself on day one with two positive cases. Immediately, the protocols were adjusted and there have been other adjustments since then. This is understandably causing confusion for our visitors — several of whom have taken to social media to voice their frustrations with the lack of certainty regarding the protocols and in some cases cancelling their trips.
In my view, all of this could have been avoided if we hurried slowly. There was nothing to prevent us from taking the time to assess the situation — our vaccination levels — and have a later reopening date. There was nothing to prevent us from thinking through and testing the protocols, so that when we reopened we would have one clear and consistent message, instead of appearing to scramble to pull things together. It is not a good look for Anguilla and is not in keeping with our image and reputation in the industry which we have built over several decades.
Nevertheless, here we are. Our borders have reopened to visitors and returning residents. We pray that there will be continued vigilance in keeping Anguilla safe as we try to ensure our economy recovers. However, we must remember that we do not exist in a bubble. We must still be mindful that there are variants of the Covid-19 virus which are spreading rapidly in other parts of the world — and the level of protection afforded by existing vaccines in relation to those variants leaves much to be desired. The potential for those variants to reach our shores is a reality we have to make every effort to guard against. Though we can boast of the relative success, of our vaccination programme to date, from all accounts the AstraZeneca vaccine is less effective against some variants such as the Delta variant — and if that variant was to be found here there is a greater risk that our health system would be overwhelmed.
We will do ourselves a great favour if we took our time in reverting to business as usual. In fact, in my view, we should operate as if it will be business unusual for some time to come. We would be fooling ourselves if we think it is safe to let our guards down while the rest of the world is facing a different reality. The efforts of our leaders and the health team, to date, have been commendable but we must “put de pressure pon [dem]” to prioritise the health of our people over the health of the economy. In seeking to balance these competing priorities, we urge them to proceed with caution. Hurry slowly.
