Prime Minister Allen Chastanet says that by itself, a vaccine will not solve the current COVID-19 problem.
“While we are very excited about getting the vaccines here, the evidence is still not there that the vaccine by itself is going to solve the problem,” he told reporters.
“So if everyone things they are going to get vaccinated and they are going to be able to take off their mask and go back to business as usual, there is no evidence so far to suggest that’s the case,”Chastanet observed.
As a result, he said people will have to learn to live with COVID-19 protocols for a lot longer than they think.
The PM said he wants to see children going back to school and small businesses operating again.
He pointed to examples of countries with larger populations that are doing it.
“There is no reason why we in Saint Lucia cannot,” Chastanet asserted.
He recalled that Saint Lucia, between June and September last year, co-existed with COVID-19.
“We had no cases,” he recalled.
Chastanet expressed personal disappointment that some people genuinely believe that the virus does not exist.
“It just says we’re all not doing a good enough job of communicating that message,” he explained.
The PM described the COVID-19 pandemic as possibly one of the worst crises people have seen in their lifetime.
But he said he is proud that ‘we are managing the situation’.
“We are trying to, first of all, take care of lives as a priority and make sure we position Saint Lucia to go post COVID,” the PM stated.
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