Former PM pleased with SVG’s handing of COVID-19 cases

The government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is being commended by a former prime minister, on the other side of the political fence, for its handling of the nation’s COVID-19 cases.

“The question of looking after that aspect of COVID, I think it has been it’s really been pretty well handled by the government in terms of making sure we keep track of the people infected and isolating people and seeing that people are tested, etc.,” Sir James Mitchell said on Boom FM on Tuesday.

Sir James commended the government on the handling of the medical side of the pandemic, even as he criticised the Ralph Gonsalves-led Unity Labour Party administration for its economic response to the fallout.

He said he was “fascinated” a few weeks ago when he visited Mustique — the frolicking ground for the world’s rich and famous – and, like all other persons on the ferry from Kingstown, was tested for COVID-19 on arrival in Mustique.

“And I like that. And I wish we could do more of that to make sure the moment you see any problem in any area, go through and test,” Sir James said.

“I was quite happy to go through and be tested along with the other workers to enter Mustique because Mustique, it values its reputation. And we need to value the reputation of St. Vincent,” he said.

“And I think we have succeeded in being in the British classification, a country that you could travel,” Sir James added.

The United Kingdom (UK) says it would allow its nationals to make non-essential travel trips to SVG, but all persons travelling from SVG to the UK have to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival.

The effect of this could be to deter travel to SVG from the UK and vice versa.

There has not been any known active COVID-19 case in St. Vincent and the Grenadines since June 25, when the last of the country’s 29 COVID-19 patients recovered from the viral illness.