18th November 2020
Philip J Pierre called upon the Government to embark upon widespread testing for the COVID 19
By SLP
Press Release - The Political Leader of the Saint Lucia Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Philip J Pierre, has called upon the Saint Lucia Government to embark upon widespread testing for the COVID 19 Virus using the latest technology.
Hon. Pierre made the call during his address at the Opening Session of his Party’s 2020 Annual Conference of Delegates, which was staged virtually on national television stations on the evening of Sunday 15th November 2020.
His recommendation comes as Saint Lucia is experiencing its first major surge of in country transmission of the virus which has seen cases in virtually all communities and two COVID 19 related deaths- the country’s first.
The Opposition Leader proposed: “a proactive approach to fighting COVID by doing screen testing in all communities and called “on the government to embrace the latest technology that will reduce the results of testing to minutes rather than days. In light of the rising levels of infections, the Government should allow for an increase in the country’s testing capacity by permitting the use of the forensic lab and private labs with established PCR capacity. An increase in testing capacity will lead to a more effective system of testing and tracing.”
Hon Pierre’s statement on the COVID 19 Pandemic comes amid a controversy as to the source of the latest outbreak of the virus in Saint Lucia with the Prime Minister blaming the illegal entry of Saint Lucia nationals into Saint Lucia from Martinique as the reasons for the upsurge, and even suggesting in Parliament last week, that an SLP protest march in early October may have been the cause.
However with no medical proof for his statements they have been dismissed in some quarters as a diversion from what may be the real origins- the opening of the country’s borders to allow tourists to enter from the USA, the current world epicentre of the Pandemic.
In his address, Hon Pierre once again declared that politics should be removed from the approach to dealing with the virus.
“Covid-19 is a national challenge that should concern all Saint Lucians. We have repeatedly called for a non-politicization of this health and economic issue because this virus affects everyone. We do not desire that any one fall victim to the virus”
He reminded Saint Lucians to observe the protocols in place to combat the disease. “We once more ask all Saint Lucians, as we have repeatedly done, to comply in the interest of their health and that of their neighbours and follow the established protocols “
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