COVID-19: 'VI did the right things in the right order'- Julio S. Henry
During a conversation on the Tuesday, September 8, 2020, edition of Umoja with host Cromwell Smith aka 'EdJu Enka' on ZBVI 780AM, Henry said while the VI's handling of the pandemic was good, authorities should have started earlier to gain the knowledge that it has now so that the Territory would be further along on the path to full re-opening.
Strengthening knowledge
"I keep revisiting what I said on May 7th and I published it on my Facebook page, challenging the system... I believe whenever you are faced with any type of challenges, it is best to face it as quickly as possible so you can learn how to operate, learn how to figure it out, learn how to get beyond those challenges."
Henry continued, "I ain't saying nobody did anything wrong, if it was me, I would have already done start looking at doing things back then, that we are doing now."
He said while the Territory is opening up slowly with more cases present, authorities are only now figuring out how to contact trace, how to isolate cases and how to do that alongside a functioning business community.
Henry remains confident in Gov't
"All we are going to do is to continue to strengthen our knowledge and keep adding to it," he said, adding that such an approach would better equip the Territory to handle the pandemic in the future.
"I am confident that by next month, no later than November 1, 2020, the Government of the Virgin Islands will have to open up their borders and we already have the data, they will figure out how to now bring more and more people in," he said.
Mr Henry agreed that the Territory did the right things in the right order, which would allow for the full re-opening of the tourism sector and authorities being well equipped and knowledgeable on how to better handle the pandemic.
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21 Responses to “COVID-19: 'VI did the right things in the right order'- Julio S. Henry”
They deserve 4 more years
Based on the information available, Premier Andrew A. Fahie and his team did a “bang up” job in keeping the infection numbers relatively low. From May through August, the numbers flat lined at 8 with 1 death; in the last 2 weeks, the numbers spike to 63. To attain and sustain the low numbers, government had to take some strong but unpopular, and controversial actions(some may call them draconian), eg, 24-hour lockdowns, closing borders......etc. Undoubtedly, these tough but necessary actions had an opportunity cost. The tough actions earned the territory some Covid-19 dividends that must be expended effectively and wisely.
Moreover, Covid-19 adversely impacted VI residents lives and livelihoods. The VI depends heavily on trade and tourism and both sectors were brutally impacted. Tourism is 1/2 of the economic twin pillars and provides significant direct , indirect and induced employment. Covid-19 shutdown tourism and many are unemployed. With many unemployed, government despite declining revenue must a)continue to provide essential/core services, a) provide a targeted stimulus plan to get money directly to needy individuals and c)provide assistance to private sector to limit collapse.
Covid-19 has exposed the long known structural weaknesses of the economy. The recovery must include a stronger, more resilient and diversified economy. Both short-term and long-term actions are needed to boost growth and development—-improving governance, investing in health and education, business, environment....etc. Reopening must be balance of public health and safety v. economy.
VIP all the time