Fellow Grenadians, Good afternoon. Today, I announce that Grenada has now recorded its 22nd laboratory-confirmed case of Covid-19.
Our latest case is an 8-year-old family member of one of the positive workplace cluster cases. This is our youngest case so far, and for now, she is considered an asymptomatic carrier — which means she is displaying no symptoms but she can still transmit the disease.
Thankfully, her family has been in quarantine for the last 2 weeks, since their relative was diagnosed.
Sisters and brothers, Covid-19 continues to show that it respects no one. It affects the young and the elderly; the black, white and brown. It has no regard for where you live. No one is immune, and we are all affected differently.
For this reason, we must maintain vigilance at all times. The stakes are just too high, too costly and too deadly.
Our healthcare professionals continue to spare no effort in ensuring that every case is ultimately medically cleared of this deadly disease and so far, their efforts have proved successful.
To date, we have conducted 2459 Rapid Tests, and 454 PCR Tests.
We have had a total of 22 confirmed cases of Covid-19 on mainland Grenada. We are pleased to note that 14 of those have already recovered. Seven are still active, but stable.
We are currently well ahead, per capita, in terms of testing, which gives us a solid indication of our Covid-19 status, as a Nation. We believe that we have a solid virus tracking strategy, which we have improved on, since our first case. This continuous and aggressive contact tracing conducted by our health officials, has made a significant difference in this fight.
Brothers and sisters, we are at a critical juncture in Grenada.
Our primary focus continues to be public health and safety, but, as a government, we are also trying to balance economic considerations.
More businesses are open and more people are out daily. The beaches are accessible once again, during the morning hours, and outdoor exercise is now commonplace. It is easy to drop our guards, because on the surface, it appears that much is back to normal. But make no mistake, nothing will be normal for months, if not years to come; and we definitely cannot afford to be complacent and lackluster in our engagements.
We need to learn how to adjust to, and sustain, this new way of life, if we want to stay alive.
Physical distancing must be our watchword. We must also wear our masks when out in public, and practice proper hygiene. Whether we are at work, or exercise, or shopping, we need to ensure that at all times, we remain vigilant.
As your Health Minister, I am cognisant of how difficult these restrictions can be, but I am even more aware of how necessary they are in our fight to save lives. We have come a very long way, but the battle is far from over. In fact, we have been cautioned by the experts that this is likely just the beginning.
I am immensely proud of our healthcare workers, who, through their sheer vigilance, diligence and dedication, have gotten us to this point, without any Covid casualties.
I am also grateful to the Grenadian public for your collective efforts in observing the safety measures; thus helping to contain this deadly disease.
This pandemic is unprecedented and fluid, and there is no blueprint, but, as a government, we are working tirelessly for this entire nation.
These are indeed challenging times, and we are each affected differently. There are many amongst us who are not as able to adjust to this new normal and the difficulties that it poses; therefore, we must be mindful that we also have a very real and very critical mental health battle on our hands.
Let us continue to spare a thought for our neighbour and look out for each other, to help lighten the burden. May our Grenadian spirit and brotherhood shine through in these dark times.
Above all, let us continue to stay the course, and observe the safety measures, until we collectively see the back end of Covid-19.
GIS
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My town, west of Boston, Massachusetts, is doing pretty well, people are very cautious outside, and wear masks. But 5,797 deaths have occurred from Covid-19 in my state alone. The virus spreads very easily, and can cause life long damage in survivors. Our governor has followed the advise of health experts, even with that, almost 90,000 have confirmed cases, with likely many more uncounted.
I’m happy that there is an island in the sparkling waters of the Caribbean, with sweet scented air, verdant green, accented by all the colors of the rainbow. Please be safe, and be ever vigilant against this microscopic nastiness.
As far as trying to reach “herd immunity” with Covid-19, Sweden is trying to do that. It’s not going well. Thousands of extra deaths compared to other Scandinavian countries. That’s part of the “throw grandma on the fire” crowd.
My mother is in her 80’s, and doing just fine, thank you very much! My family is working hard to keep ALL of us alive and well. If it takes awhile to develop a vaccine, or at least a useable treatment, so be it. We will wait. We are planting a big garden, and hoping for a few good fishing trips this summer.
I hope the people of Grenada continue to handle the pandemic with knowledge, grace, and steadfastness. It’s a tough time for people all over the planet, our own actions may determine life or death for strangers or family. Be safe! Be safe for others, be safe for yourself. Live to tell the legend of what good you did for your community during a terrible threat.
Unless Grenada seals itself for years and years in a bubble from the rest of the World, Government Lockdowns, House Arrest Curfews and Social Isolation is a total waste of time, money and individual Freedom.
Protect the Old and Vunerable, Open up the country to normal human interaction and activities, and in a very short time usually 3-6 weeks mass immunity prevails and any Virus lose its vectors and is erradicated.
Too simple, so Politicians and Government….. continue to waste time and money trying to stop thousands of Viruses that surround us all the time.
At this point she is right. If you ever want to get back to s normal life. Living in fear does no good.