Tourism Minister Dr. Ernest Hilaire has highlighted the government’s commitment to consultation and the need for trust amid the current COVID-19 pandemic.
“”We want to trust Saint Lucians and for Saint Lucians to trust us. We will consult and appeal for all Saint Lucians to play their part,” the Castries South MP wrote in a post on the official Facebook page of the ruling Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) on Monday.
He was reflecting on his first week which he said basically involved meeting various agencies which fall under his portfolio and getting an understanding of what transpired for the last five years.
In addition, Hilaire said it involved spelling out the vision of the new Government for the next five years.
“We were also heavily engaged in discussion on changing the approach to managing COVID-19. We have set forth an approach that is based on moral suasion rather than coercion,” Hilaire, who also has responsibility for Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Information, noted.
On Monday, the Ministry of Health announced confirmation of 109 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the number diagnosed in country to date to 6,475.
And although the authorities here are encouraging people to get vaccinated, describing it as the most effective measure for reducing the impact of the virus on the health and well-being of citizens, Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre made it clear in an address to the nation last week that his administration will not go down the path of making vaccination mandatory.
In addition, Pierre announced that his administration will decriminalise COVID protocol breaches.
“Persons who have been previously arrested, charged and convicted for COVID-19 protocol breaches will have their records expunged,” he stated.
“We need to persuade and encourage citizens to comply with the protocol guidelines, not threaten and punish them to do so,” Pierre explained during his address.
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