Anguilla is reopening! We knew it was inevitable but, for many, we are not mentally prepared for anyone to infiltrate our Covid-free bubble! There has been a flurry of meetings and press opportunities, over the past few days, as our new Government engaged stakeholders and the public regarding the reopening plans. During that time we learnt that, in addition to the repatriation of Anguillians and long-time residents, we will be welcoming visitors for extended stays at special rates. Visitors will be able to stay in villas and similar single units where they can self-quarantine for the stipulated period. Visitors must meet all health protocol requirements, and villas must similarly meet specific requirements in order to be a part of the programme. The application portal has been developed on the Beatcovid19.ai website, and the final preparations are being made to welcome visitors to our shores shortly. Such preparations will include the training of frontline workers, hiring of additional health personnel, purchase of additional equipment, ensuring adequate testing — and the list goes on.
Whether or not we are mentally prepared, we are slowly reopening. This is welcome news for the tourism sector which has been hard-hit by the pandemic. While we would appreciate that large hotel properties will not necessarily benefit from this first phase of reopening, we can imagine how grateful villa owners are to be able to earn some well-needed revenue. Employees, similarly, will be happy to be able to earn wages that could help them to meet their monthly obligations. If handled appropriately, this is a plus for Anguilla.
On the other hand, opening to more people means that we are increasing our risk of losing our Covid-free status — which is the very thing that is currently enticing visitors to even consider an extended stay in Anguilla, under the proposed programme. Because we have been in our utopic bubble for so long, any case of covid (whether imported or due to community transmission) is likely to cause panic in the public. While at the start of the pandemic, many persons were vigilant in following the advice of the Ministry of Health, practising good hygiene and observing the guidance provided by the World Health Organisation, we must admit that we have become complacent. Social distancing is a thing of the past, the majority of the population has never worn masks, hand sanitiser which was once a treasured commodity now sits in abundance on supermarket shelves. We cancelled carnival and still had carnival. We still greet with hugs and handshakes. While many still struggle to make ends meet due to the unemployment situation, we have been blessed to live without the worries of contracting a virus that has taken the lives of so many around the world.
If the reopening is not handled well, the free lifestyle we now enjoy can come to an abrupt and unwelcome end. We can find ourselves subject to restrictions on our movement and back on lockdown. No one enjoys feeling like a caged bird and we must make every effort to avoid this. Indeed, we should be examining what has been done by our Caribbean neighbours as a lesson in what not to do, for many of them had to close immediately after reopening due to the high increase in the number of persons testing positive for the virus.
It is said that leaders emerge in times of crisis. We pray that God gives our leaders the wisdom and direction that they need to guide us through these difficult times. I’m sure none of us would want to trade places with them now. This is a true test of their leadership and we trust, for all our sakes, that they will prove that they are more than capable of managing this crisis and reducing the negative social impacts.
