Kamla asks again: What next?

OPPOSITION leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar continues to question what’s next for TT, after covid19 restrictions are lifted.

This comes as Persad-Bissessar, in a statement on Monday, renewed calls for the government to share what post-covid19 restriction plans will be considered by the government’s recently established Road Map Recovery Team.

Urging that businesses closed by covid19 restrictions must be reopened “sooner rather than later”, she said, “We must think for ourselves and stop waiting to copy what other countries do while our citizens suffer.”

The immediate implementation of enhanced health and safety protocols at all places of work is among suggestions she put forward to help speed up the process of reopening closed businesses.

With these protocols, she said, “The wider economy can be reopened without endangering people’s health when the shutdown is over.

“We can couple this with staggered working hours for different sectors, continue social distancing measures and limit recreational activities to an acceptable minimum.”

She accused the government of using fear and indecision to determine the way forward for the country and challenged it to take an innovative approach.

The only people who were "reasonably comfortable" in the current situation, she said, were those who could still collect their salaries.

"What about those who had nothing to eat this morning?

“Think about the poor in our society, they are suffering, their lives matter too. Many are having great difficulty in providing for themselves and their loved ones.”

While calling for businesses to be reopened, Persad-Bissessar also urged caution.

She said again that the government is providing misleading data on TT's covid19 situation.

“The Minister of Health sits at press conferences every day, for weeks, and refuses to tell the population how many persons have been tested.

“There is currently inadequate testing being done.

"Yet, we need this information to make decisions regarding the length of the shutdown. We are in a stalemate.”

Accusing the government of inadequate testing, she asked what scientific data is being used to determine the way forward.

She described government decisions, as "part guesswork and part copy and paste from foreign states.”