Prime Minister Allen Chastanet on Monday repeated his conviction that COVID-19 will not define Saint Lucia.
He did so in a message to mark this country’s 42nd anniversary of Independence.
Chastanet recalled an address a year ago.
He said then he spoke about the advances that the country had made since 1979, along with the more recent successes of the government since assuming the mantle of leadership in 2016.
“It was clear for all to see that Saint Lucia was again back on track with its development,” he asserted.
But he noted that COVID-19 has impacted this development.
As a result, the PM said there is no denying that there will be setbacks.
“We have had immense revenue losses and had to reallocate a lot of our resources to fight the pandemic. But you would have heard me say repeatedly over the past year that Covid-19 will not define us. Nor will we allow it to deter us,” Chastanet declared.
He observed that on this occasion therefore, his message to the people of Saint Lucia, is forward-looking.
“Hence the theme for this year’s celebrations: “A Resilient Nation: We can. We will”,” Chastanet explained.
He observed that as Saint Lucia heads into the Independence weekend, it had the good news that the fight against COVID entered a new phase with the commencement of the vaccination programme.
Chastanet said he is so proud of all the nurses, doctors, firemen and police that have already received the vaccine.
“The Ministry of Health’s pre-registration process has begun and we are encouraged by the thousands of Saint Lucians who have indicated they are ready to take the vaccine,” he said.
However, he stressed that it is both free and voluntary.
And the PM made it clear that Saint Lucia is not out of the woods.
Comments are closed.