This is a picture of our normally crowded Maracas Beach, taken at mid-day on a Friday. It’s so sad to see our beautiful island like a ghost town. I went to a mall a couple of weeks ago, and it was spooky walking amongst all the closed shops. Only the bank and a book store were open, as well as the pharmacy that I was heading for. Driving downtown was equally eerie as everywhere was closed like it was a Sunday. The pandemic restrictions are taking a toll.
But things are looking up, despite still being under a State of Emergency with nightly curfew. Last week, our borders were finally opened to scheduled flights and vessels. Entry to T&T is still restricted to vaccinated non-nationals, and nationals who must hotel quarantine at their own expense if not vaccinated. All must have negative PCR tests, of course. Only CAL flights have taken advantage of this so far, but it sounds like other airlines will be joining them at some point. Sadly, CAL is in negotiation with unions over the airline’s announcement of their plan to retrench 25% of their staff. It’s been a tough year.
COVID-19 cases are coming down, albeit much more slowly than they went up in April. Daily deaths are reported mostly in single figures now, as opposed to a death in this country from the virus every 1-2 hours. Our parallel health system came close to being overwhelmed, with stories of people dying in tents outside hospitals before their test results came back.
The good news is that we are getting in a plentiful supply of vaccines. 800,000 Sinopharm doses arrived last week from China, and we are expecting our final tranche of 33,600 AstraZeneca shots soon, plus 600,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccines from the Africa Medical Supplies Platform, although that continent has barely started on their own vaccination drives. There were also the mysterious 400 doses of the Pfizer vaccine donated last month by US security forces for their counterparts here. We now have about 12.5% of our population fully vaccinated, with an expectation that two thirds of those eligible will have been given all doses of the vaccine by the end of September.
Our vaccination drive is in full swing, inoculating up to 20,000 people a day with the use of mass vaccination sites like The Savannah, and drive-through sites like at Wallerfield Race Course. At first, doses were given out according to sectors that are opening up (construction and manufacturing and laundries (!) last week, and take-away and street foods this week). It appears that retail businesses will be next and finally, restaurants, bars and entertainment venues. A number of popular restaurants have announced that they are closed for good. I was surprised that there was a low turnout for fast foods. One of the reasons is likely that people have been without income for too long and cannot afford to buy in food, especially as prices have risen in some cases. It’s been really tough.
The media is promoting the benefits of being vaccinated. There were daily heart-rending stories of multiple family members dying from COVID-19 within days of each other. Now it’s equally heart-rending stories of large families living in abject poverty in shacks, their children having to walk miles to get a signal on an old cell phone so they can attend virtual school. Most don’t bother, I suspect. Both parents out of work because of the lockdown. Trinis are generous people and countless individuals, NGOs, corporations and associations have donated money, hampers, devices for schooling, and so on, but the hunger and poverty seems never-ending. The government hand-outs are too little and don’t reach many of the needy.
More good news is that physical schools are due to open in September and teachers are being encouraged to get vaccinated. School-leaving children managed to sit their important exams a few weeks ago (SEA, CSEC and CAPE) so that’s a relief for them. I don’t know what happens to those who were unable to do so because of dropping out or being in quarantine. Apparently, the turnout for teachers to be vaccinated has been low, as it was for taxi drivers. Vaccine hesitancy is a real thing here.
Those most at risk from the virus, such as the elderly and those with co-morbidities, were offered vaccinations as a priority. However, that plan took a while to reach the care homes and we lost many of those seniors when a cluster of cases broke out in these institutions. It was thought this came about from residents catching the virus after attending hospital visits. I also know that some care-givers have refused to take the vaccine.
Most of our reported Coronavirus cases are amongst the 20-50 year olds. While mostly seniors over 60 are succumbing to the disease, there is an increasing number of fatalities amongst much younger people with no co-morbidities. We have the alpha (UK) and gamma (Brazil) variants circulating but no sign of the highly contagious delta (India) variant … yet. We reached the grim milestone of a 1,000 COVID-19 deaths in this country, a few days ago.
I have been resorting to buying items online that I would normally buy from a local shop (all closed). However, my carrier in Miami is reporting long delays because many of their staff are stricken with COVID-19. Then there are further delays in customs in Trinidad because of staff working in rotation. I have noticed shortages in our groceries and pharmacies because of the difficulty in importing goods. Life is difficult these days.
On Monday, I celebrated the return of being able to exercise out-of-doors and in small groups, by taking a walk with my sister in our neighbourhood. I thought there would be more people out and about and was surprised how many chose not to wear a mandated mask. The fine is $1,000 I think. It is hard to exercise with a mask and I feel more comfortable with a face shield. I also keep well away from passers-by, though I am fully-vaccinated.
The international news is sobering with extreme weather conditions sparking wildfires in Western USA and Canada, and many other parts of the world. Record rainfall has caused devastating floods in Europe and China. It looks like climate change is the next big thing in the news after this pandemic.
The controversial Tokyo 2020 Olympics opening ceremony finally took place today. It was a sign of the times to see a doctor and nurse among those honoured with carrying the Olympic Torch through the vast stadium. Everyone was wearing masks. There were splendid fireworks encircling the structure after the Eternal Flame was lit. Very dramatic in front of a stadium devoid of spectators. Locked down because of a surge of COVID-19 cases in the city. A number of athletes have contracted the virus already.
I pray that our population does their part and takes the jab when offered to them. The country cannot afford to live through these severe restrictions again. Stay safe, everyone.
