June 8, 2020
Dear all,
At the risk of being accused of ungratefulness, I am penning this letter as an appreciation of my “Repatriation” to my homeland as recently as this weekend.
Firstly, thanks to all involved for their concern and expressions of good will. These were thankfully received.
Now, for some real truths. This pandemic has caused much consternation and grief for millions around the world, and will continue to do so until there is a prophylactic cure or vaccine. In fact, it may well turn out to be as ubiquitous as the “common cold” viruses – on a seasonal basis. Which is why getting a flu shot is as important as any other medical check; which brings me back to addressing “Repatriation”.
The prudent thing to do in the pandemic was to shut down and shelter in place, and it had to be done in a radical and timely fashion. But the economy suffers after a while, so how do we get to borrow a phase from Governor Cuomo – to a New Normal. My first instinct is to have the decision-makers listen to sound and proven scientific discipline of which I have some knowledge – but most importantly can draw on a myriad of family members who are scientists and experts in infectious diseases etc – World Health Organization and Center for Disease Control in the U.S. and NIH professionals.
Lets be realistic. The virus will not disappear, and the scientific community knows that it will most likely mutate before they are able to find a specific vaccine, and most likely a cocktail of treatment, before getting a handle on this disease. So let’s not dupe ourselves into thinking that a fortnight’s quarantine will give us the all clear. Anguillians are moving about as though its not here. There were three cases and, thankfully, no apparent community spread; but that does not mean that the virus, as virulent as it is, may not be in a state of hibernation, so to speak, waiting to emerge again with different symptoms.
Now here is how a controlled reopening occurs. First, you allow citizens or long stay residents to enter with the social distance restrictions in place. Yes, there is testing but there must be some education and a trust in our citizenry to do the right thing!. Stay home and be monitored for a period for acclimatization without symptoms. Social distancing measures, and proper sanitizing, should be the norm for the local populace not only at present but for the foreseeable future. Wear face masks when in public places while maintaining distance. Secondly, follow up and trace for a designated period and closely monitor for signs of community spread. Again, to reiterate the point, that until there is an effective treatment the spread will have to be controlled by limiting community interaction or until herd immunity takes over.
Leisure travel, as we know it, and as these small economies depend on it, is perhaps one of the greatest casualties of this disease. Allowing our citizens to return is the right thing to do, but placing them in hotel settings, where there is more social interaction and less social distancing, defeats the purpose of trying to limit the spread of this virus; not to mention the cost of providing room and board in a hotel setting for fourteen days. Will a tourist who is on an eight to ten day vacation come to be quarantined for fourteen days? There must be a new thinking and diversification of the industry. What a great opportunity to get our fishing industry on track. And as we build up a large scale production, there is time to put in proper safeguards to mitigate the spread not only of this pandemic but perhaps the next outbreak which no doubt is inevitable.
There is opportunity in small scale agricultural farming, vertical hydroponics etc., renewable energy, including wave, wind, solar, all of which there is an abundance of here in Anguilla. Energy storage technology – including salt water batteries. The list is not exhaustive.
So let us bring our people home in a safe and controlled manner, and work with that discipline which should at all times characterize a good and decent people. It’s the only way to get the economic engine started again.
Best regards,
Patterson Hunte
