DON’T BE A FROG

THOSE people insisting on their personal “rights” to cluster during the covid19 pandemic could well end up like the squashed frog in a Tobago tale, the Prime Minister warned at Monday’s post-Cabinet briefing at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s.

The number of covid19 cases in the country reached 52 on Monday as Tobago recorded its first case – a Trinidad resident who had recently returned from abroad and was in qurantine in Tobago.

Saying spread of covid19 will “rise or fall on the behaviour of individuals,” Dr Rowley hoped reported gatherings at a certain college and church were simply outlier cases who could be persuaded to desist.

“I heard a conversation about ‘rights.’ They’ll tell you they must do that, so they could damage the whole country. Well that is where law enforcement will come in.”

He hoped just a very tiny minority were insisting on such rights.

“All so far that has happened to us, my fear is what will happen next week, and the week after, and the week after.

“There is a story being told about a frog in Tobago, and the bus is coming from Moriah. The frog was crossing the road first and had the right to cross the road, and the bus was coming and the bus kept coming. The frog was saying, ‘I was here first.’ The bus kept coming, and the bus passed and there was no frog.”

He said policing of all suspected cases was not feasible, so persuasion is now used. Told of Italy’s and Spain’s fatal delay in isolating their populations to avert the spread of covid19, the PM said the situation in TT is monitored on a day by day and hour by hour basis, for firm action to be taken where required. However, he said a 14 day stay-at-home order would have far-reaching consequences, as he spoke of the need to balance the fight against the virus with the need to maintain a sense of order and existence alluding to economic activity.

“We’ll not do something because it is happening elsewhere. The only thing we worry about is a lack of co-operation. With that co-operation we are able to do a bit more. “We closed all our beaches. Of course there are people saying ‘I want to go to the beach because I have free time.’ We’ve got to slap down those people.” Reporters giggled.

“I don’t mean literally. What that attitude is doing is threatening the very carefully laid plan.

“Our health professionals have been preparing and are doing a wonderful job to give us a chance to walk this curve without it being too steep. The only thing that could change it for us is our own behaviour at the personal level.”

The PM said covid19 is no respecter of one’s immigration status as he invited “every living soul in TT” with symptoms to get tested, including Venezuelan migrants whether legal or illegal. He sympathised that not every home has a room to isolate a family-member with suspected covid19.

Rowley said it is unknown how covid19 penetrates populations, and while he expects a rise in the number of cases in the next fortnight, he also expected TT’s health infrastructure to be able to cope. He said this expectation could be thrown off if the population acts irresponsibly.

“If we follow social distancing, that gives us the best chance. Epidemics tend to have a phase two, worse than phase one. It is an evolving situation.

“I have every confidence the people of TT will come out of this. We do not know how long this period will be, so it is very difficult to plan.”

He hoped the global pandemic could end in two to three months, yet added, “It could go on longer.”