“Corona” feels comfortable at parties. Some guests hold a bottle of beer with a name equal to the dreaded viral disease — Corona. Some could have caught the virus at the carnival in Anguilla and elsewhere — could have been even at the Wembley Stadium in London. The corona virus always has a home game and is, unfortunately, the most “successful” party hopper. Many people worldwide do not regret joining big party events until they find themselves in quarantine or in hospital.
Whoever is not vaccinated, be it out of principle or for personal health reasons, enjoys little freedom to travel, and does encounter difficulties in finding or retaining employment, as is the case in many hotels or banks worldwide. Even trips to St. Martin are not possible, or only under exceptional cases, without having been vaccinated.
Most internationally accepted vaccines have an efficacy of about 80-90%, including AstraZeneca. This was confirmed by scientists from London to Hamburg. As a rule of thumb, even a vaccinated person at Carnival festivities who does hug different people, smooches and flirts closely, could be in for treatment and quarantine. Theoretically, he or she could have been infected even by a simple kiss on the cheek.
Those who want to travel have more than one option if they can produce an international document which shows they have received an anti-Corona shot. The local blue COVID-19 vaccination card, the size of a driver’s license, with photo and QR code, issued in Anguilla, has an advantage: It is virtually impossible to forge. Hoverer, it is not known worldwide. Notwithstanding, Premier Dr. Ellis Webster has received reports from Anguillians in Europe which tell of its good acceptance.
In any case, for globetrotters and frequent travellers who want to go to Spain, Madagascar, Mexico, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Thailand, or New Zealand, or who want faster access to Germany, Italy or France, as well as in department stores and bars, the yellow vaccination book of the World Health Organisation (WHO), an International Certificate of Vaccination, is highly recommended.
This document is also recognised in Anguilla. And the British island’s Premier has meanwhile given the “green light” for those who have had the two AstraZeneca vaccinations — indicated by Anguilla’s blue vaccination card — to be retroactively entered into the WHO’s yellow vaccination book. I attended the Welches Clinic, in late August, and a very thoughtful nurse there stamped the confirmation. Now my international vaccination booklet contains the Anguilla vaccination characteristics as well.
BLUE is good. But if you want to be on the safe side when travelling, also take along the YELLOW. The WHO vaccination certificate can also be ordered at Amazon. Information is available at: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Certificate_of_Vaccination_or_Prophylaxis
Well, what do tourists think about the current Covid situation in Anguilla? Most of them come from the USA to this British island. But Europeans have more holidays and stay longer — especially guests from Germany who usually stay for many weeks.
As regards vaccination documentation, Marianne Hoffmann-Kneifel, a Doctor of General Medicine, from Alzenau in the German state of Bavaria, has good experiences with the yellow booklet, the International Certificates of Vaccination, issued by the WHO. She explains: “This is where the doctor or clinic enters the most recent vaccinations, now against COVID-19, but also against hepatitis, tetanus, diphtheria, yellow fever and more.” She adds: “This vaccination card is accepted at borders worldwide, including, of course, Africa, America, France, Germany and Anguilla.”
Dr. Hoffmann-Kneifel and her husband, Dr. Andreas Kneifel, Specialist in microbiology, virology, and infectious disease epidemiology, were married 23 years ago in The Valley, Anguilla. “We want to go back to Anguilla, relax and visit our groomsmen,” they said. “Right now, though, we are concerned about the sharp rise in Corona infections on the island that occurred in August,” the couple said in unison.
Also, Management Professor, Joachim Schwalbach, from Berlin, and his wife, follow the Covid-19 news with great attention, especially since Anguilla is their favourite island. They have been visiting here for over twenty times. “Our next visit is planned for January and February 2022,” Joachim said. “However, the carnival pictures in the newspaper and the latest news about the rapid increase of infections do worry us, and so we fear that we might not to be able to visit the island, this time, as we did in 2020/21.”
Ulrich Leidholdt and his wife Doris Bulau, journalists from Cologne, with experience in the Middle East, have also been closely following the Covid situation on the island. They too love to visit the island. Leidholdt unofficially calculated Anguilla’s incidence figures for himself in mid-August, and he compared them with Leverkusen, the city with the highest figures in Germany, at that time. “These are similar values, and that worries me,” he said. His comparison indicated the number of new infections on a 7-day average per 100,000 person population.
Recently, Premier Dr Ellis Webster and Governor Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam, in Executive Council, reacted to the situation of these increasing cases, but critics may say, “it’s unfortunately late”. Now, from August 26th “mass gatherings are limited to a maximum of 25 persons, at any one time, for both indoor and outdoor settings…”
As of August 30th, there were 38 active cases, with a total of 217 cases. The number of infected people in Anguilla remains relatively high.
“Small” can often mean “successful” in statistics. For example, Anguilla ranks 208th in the world of those infected with Corona out of 223 nations and territories, according to: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/anguilla/#graph-cases-daily. The USA continues to be number one, ahead of India and Brazil. And the least with the fewest infections is Micronesia, a group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean.
Bernd Kubisch/ch/ul
Bernd Kubisch has spent 40 years reporting for the German news agency dpa and other media as an editor and freelancer from over 20 countries. He has known Anguilla since 1986 (and he loves it).
