Inside St Lucia: The shady reality of COVID-19 wards

The tiny Caribbean island nation of St Lucia is among the region's worse affected countries due to the coronavirus pandemic. The

Wednesday, 17th February 2021

Inside St Lucia: The shady reality of COVID-19 wards

The tiny Caribbean island nation of St Lucia is among the region's worse affected countries due to the coronavirus pandemic. The condition is so critical, and the government is working to impose a six-month state of emergency while there is already a stringent lockdown. According to statistics, St Lucia has over 23,15 confirmed coronavirus cases and 23 virus-related deaths, a significant number concerning the country's small population. WIC NEWS feature team interviewed Tiffeny Joseph- A Saint Lucia-based activist and coordinator of a local NGO named "Youth at Risk." Ms. Tiffeny shared her own experience of getting a coronavirus test done in St Lucia and explained the brutal hygiene conditions at local respiratory clinics in the country. She stated people were barely wearing face masks, and the facility staff did not show much concern about sanitizing the public's hands or being vigilant towards the situation. The social activist stated that the government should employ more people into the health department as the country is undergoing a severe health crisis like the rest of the world. She revealed that St Lucia respiratory clinics resemble party tents and have a very limited sitting space, resulting in closer contact of positive patients with the general public appearing for check-ups. As per the Youth at Risk organization's coordinator, the country is not only undergoing a pandemic, but it is also bearing the mental consequences of joblessness resulted from the state of emergency and lockdowns. She noted that some employers are firing people for testing positive for the virus, and they are not taken back even after getting cured of the contagious disease. Interview: How difficult is it to get a COVID-19 test done in St Lucia? Answer: Getting the test isn't difficult, but the clinics' service is very unprofessional and unsanitary in the midst of a pandemic. What do you think of the health ministry's efforts to reduce the coronavirus contamination in St Lucia? Answer: In my opinion, the health departments should first employ more staff at the testing clinic to ensure that patients don't congregate, get all citizens who haven't been tested to get it done; they also need to make it mandatory for all visitors to get a second test. Do you think the St Lucian hospitals are equipped with enough amenities to deal with the pandemic? The hospitals are definitely unequipped, the respiratory clinic, as they call it, use to be the leading hospital supplying the north of the island, is now the only place housing positive cases; person is inwards where more than one person is sharing a room with just a curtain dividing them, and they still have to make use of the same bathroom. Also, when there is no space to housing new positive cases person are asked to remain home with no supervision from health officials. How many hospital beds are available in each health district for COVID-19 patients? There is only one hospital for positive cases. There are five community respiratory testing clinics on Island comprehensive. In some of these clinics, you still interact with patients who are not there for covid testing. Are there any dedicated coronavirus hospitals/clinics established to deal with the pandemic in St Lucia? Yes, we do have a respiratory clinic hospital housing covid positive despite the poor conditions it's in; we also have five respiratory testing clinics where persons may get into contact with patients who are at these clinics for other reasons. Most of the waiting areas for covid at the testing clinic and the respiratory hospital is just party tents with very little sitting space and no one to sanitize after that person has who had been sitting had left. What are the factors that you believe resulted in the community spread of the virus in St Lucia? The factors I believe resulted in the spread is negligence on the government part not making asking visitor to get a second test done; the positive tourist is spreading the virus to staff and staff to the broader population, also awaiting when the problem have affected person or lives have been lost to deal with it. The greedy of people who want to make the same amount of money before the pandemic don't follow protocols to make an extra dollar and put the persons lives at risk, e.g. (supermarket, bus driver, restaurants) few examples. What is your view on imposing a state of emergency in St Lucia to curb the infections? It is pointless because I see the person going about their business just the same; the only differences persons living from paycheck to paycheck are now out of work. It is going to bring up the crime rate and get persons into a suicidal state of mind. Do you feel that another lockdown or a state of emergency would contribute to the reduction of economic activity, i.e., a shutdown of local businesses, tourism, restaurants, etc.? The country is already wrong as it is a lot of people going to sleep on empty stomachs and kids unable to access long-distance learning. The government has refused to shut the borders, so the tourist will still be coming even if their countries have warned about traveling to St Lucia. The few small businesses that can survive online are trying to hold on as much as possible with the decrease in sales. Are people paranoid about keeping a COVID-19 positive patient employed? Some employers get rid of staff after being tested positive for covid even after a repeat test that returns negative. Some employers also allow staff time off till they recover; meanwhile, some employers don't want employees talking about covid within their establishment. Is the government assisting the unemployed? The government is only assisting people who had been paying national insurance taxes or people who can prove that they had been working before the pandemic. The remaining person such as students who had been enrolled and since graduated, have to face the working world with no jobs. Also, the $500ec amount doesn't support any household, especially one with kids with bills and food. This money will be gone within a week. (Inside St Lucia is an exclusive series started by WIC NEWS to reveal the coronavirus crisis in the Caribbean country.)

Monika Walker

Monika Walker is an experienced journalist specializing in global political developments and international relations. With a keen eye for accuracy and analysis, Monika has been reporting for over a decade, bringing stories to light that matter to readers around the world. She holds a degree in International Journalism and is passionate about giving a voice to underrepresented communities through factual reporting.