Several Oppostion Members of Parliament (MPs) have registered their concerns with the way the Irfaan Ali-led administration is tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.
Their concerns come in wake of the country confirming it’s 80th death, as confirmed cases continue to increase exponentially since the change of Government in the last month. Over 2,800 persons have tested positive since March of this year.
According to former Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Karen Cummings, the home isolation programme adopted by the government, is not helping to curb the transmission of the disease.
“The home isolation program is a complete disaster. Cases are not properly screened to determine if their circumstances warranted home isolation. Many have reported being informed that they were positive, but no information on the modality of isolation was offered. This has resulted in many persons being on home isolation with no follow-up and medical care and while the low occupancy at the Ocean View and Diamond Isolation units languish,” she said during a virtual press conference today.
Meanwhile, former State Minister Dawn Hastings-Williams criticised the administration for not doing enough to stop the spread of the virus in regions and Indigenous communities. Several hinterland regions have seen increases in cases within the past couple of months.
“I wish to call on the PPP/C administration to correct their mis-management of this dreaded disease and focus on reducing the number of deaths and finding ways to curb the escalation of the spread of the COVID-19. The persons in authority should work hand-in-hand with the Indigenous Peoples of this land,” she emphasised.
As it relates to public servants being requested to return to work, Former Public Service Minister, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, said that such a move can be detrimental to the well-being of workers.
On Sept 22nd, the Office of the President instructed staff to resume daily work from 8hrs to 4:30hrs with immediate effect, thereby ending the rotation of staff which served to limit the number of persons within an office space at any given time.
“The decision was irresponsible. This I believe is emblematic of the approach that the PPP regime has taken to the COVID-19 pandemic. An attitude that suggests to the population that the pandemic is not serious and life should return to normal as quickly as possible. This blanket disregard for the health and safety of the citizens of this country is unacceptable,” the former minister noted.
