A 96-year old man succumbed to complications from COVID-19 yesterday, January 13, becoming Antigua & Barbuda’s sixth official coronavirus fatality.
Reports say the elderly man was admitted to the hospital the same day, presenting with symptoms of the virus. A COVID test was administered and came back positive, and the man subsequently died.
Sources say a second sample was taken, and this will be sent to CARPHA for testing.
Reportedly, the attending physician was reluctant to sign off on the death certificate before there is confirmation from the Trinidad facility, but later agreed to do so.
The body was removed to Straffies Funeral Home to await the signature of the coroner, Chief Magistrate Joanne Walsh. Once she has signed off, our sources say the man will be buried today, Thursday, or Friday at the latest.
Going outside the Ministry of Health’s channels, Prime Minister Gaston Browne took to social media, last evening, to announce the death. He claims that the victim was exposed to the virus by way of a recent arrival from the United Kingdom.
“We continue to warn citizens and residents about exposing themselves and relatives to anyone who is not a member of their household, especially individuals who travelled from abroad,” Browne posted.
Browne continued his lecture by saying: “COVID is deadly; be vigilant and conform to the protocols and health regulations to protect yourselves and loved ones.”
In annoyance, a number of residents responded in various social-media chats, with one young man saying “the Prime Minister has no moral authority to preach safety to anyone.”
He was referring to recently posted videos in which Browne’s eldest son is seen partying – without a mask and in very close proximity to other revelers on a speedboat.
Since the posting of the videos, several persons have defended the Prime Minister, saying that his son is an adult and, therefore, the senior Browne cannot be expected to control his behaviour.
“Well, I am older than the son, and me older than the father, too,” a senior woman responds defiantly. “So tell Gaston Browne to stop dictating what I must do and can’t do. Charity begins at home!”
Meanwhile, Antigua & Barbuda continues to market itself as a safe destination for visitors from the virus-riddled United Kingdom and the United States, where the numbers of both infections and deaths continue their record climb. — REAL News
One response to “PM Browne uses new COVID death as an occasion to lecture; but residents say he lacks moral authority”
From the beginning, the Government’s approach to the pandemic was wrong. You cannot be importing the COVID-19 virus, and not see a spike in the number of cases. Once the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (USA) say we are coming, you open your door wide, and say: you are welcome. You are also now hoping to see the MEGA Cruise Ships arrive here.
Once the COVID-19 pandemic started, your best approach as a “Caring Government” would have been to quickly reconfigure the Antigua and Barbuda economy: by moving it away from complete dependence on tourism. I think your best bet would have been to place our country under isolation from other countries, thereby avoiding the first economy lockdown; significantly expand agriculture, under public (Government) ownership; transfer a significant number of public sector workers to agricultural farms undertaking real production. The public sector agricultural workers should work shifts like from 6.00 AM to 12.00 Noon, and get off the rest of the day. You can also construct proper shelters and rest areas on farms, so that farm workers don’t work themselves to death, or die in the broiling Sun.
You could have also established a local garment industry, with exporting arrangements with our OECS / CARICOM trading partners. Right now, we export nothing to our regional trading partners except LIAT passengers, which is still a loss making venture; but the local market is flooded with goods manufactured in the More Developed CARICOM countries. Antigua and Barbuda needs to take a walk back in time, and do some of the things we did in the 1950’s – 1960’s to survive.
We need to resuscitate local crafts like woodwork, joinery, furniture making, artwork and production of souvenirs etc. And, close down predator companies like Courts, which have done so well that they have even become Moneylenders.
We need to encourage CARICOM citizens, excluding those from the OECS, to repatriate themselves home, if they don’t yet have Antigua and Barbuda citizenship, and return to Antigua and Barbuda after the pandemic is over. We should also seek to advance the cause of Federation of Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) countries, with complete freedom of movement, but reserving 75% priority of employment for local communities.
We should not emphasize the taking of the COVID-19 vaccine as our hope of survival: we no not yet what the side effects of such vaccines maybe; for example, whether it will cause sterility, or even death, to some of us. So, lets go slowly with the vaccines. It should be left to each individual to make up his / her mind, and not a decision imposed by the Government.
You cannot run an country based on restrictions on trading activities: you cannot indefinitely restrict the number of patrons in a restaurant, nor the number of passengers on a commuter bus. Such policies are not consistent with making a profit, which the business depends on to economically survive and expand.
It’s not fair, but unconscionable, to deploy and expect the socalled ‘Frontline Workers’, including Airport and Port Workers, Taxi Drivers, and Hotel Workers to expose themselves to the risk of facing the brunt of the pandemic. Also a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases will inevitably lead to commuters boycotting public transportation such as commuter-buses and taxi-cars, ultimately culminating into another dreaded economy lockdown.
The correct policy is to place the country under isolation from other countries, where the COVID-19 pandemic is raging. Simultaneously, we must quickly reconfigure our country’s economy, but in obviously practical ways. Self sufficiency is now needed by our nation more than ever before. The first responsibility of any Government is to save lives, not to put them at risk. Otherwise, Government loses all of its moral authority to cry ‘wolf’. If the current approach to the COVID-19 pandemic is not changed, by the end of this pandemic, Antigua and Barbuda will likely have over one hundred (100) COVID-19 deaths: It will be just a matter of time before we see a spike in cases just like the Windward Islands and Barbados.