by Linda Straker
- No one with a 14-day travel history from India or Brazil will be allowed to enter Grenada
- Persons will have to spend relevant time in a third-party state prior to Grenada
- Several frontline tourism/hospitality sector workers refusing to be tested
- Significant number of healthcare workers hesitant to be vaccinated
As of 4 May 2021, Grenada will not permit any person with a travel history that includes a visit to India and or Brazil within the past 14 days, to enter the country.
“This means that no one with a 14-day travel history from India or Brazil will be allowed to enter Grenada. Persons will have to spend the relevant time in a third-party state that will allow them to enter,” Health Minister Nickolas Steele announced during the wrap-up segment of the weekly post-cabinet briefing on 4 May. He said that the Cabinet agreed to restrict travellers from these 2 countries on the advice of the Covid Committee and the Chief Medical Officer. Both territories are reportedly having millions infected the Covid-19 virus and thousands are dying daily from new variants.
Grenada at present has 1 active imported asymptomatic case and, since the first person was diagnosed in March 2020 the total number of infected persons is 161. There was one death.
The island’s vaccination programme is ongoing as of 12 February and to date more than 13,000 have received the first dose while more than 3,000 are fully vaccinated with both the first and second doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Health officials have openly expressed concern about the slow rate of vaccination which is provided for every citizen above the age of 18. Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Shawn Charles said that in Grenada a significant number of healthcare workers are hesitant to become inoculated with the Covid-19 vaccine, while several frontline workers in the tourism/hospitality sector are refusing to be tested when they are classified as “potentially exposed.”
“These individuals are in defiance and are resisting testing,” Charles said during the briefing. He explained these workers are mainly in the housekeeping department of hotels and other accommodations that are used to quarantine persons upon arrival to the island.
Calling for more persons to get vaccinated, Dr Myanna Charles who is the Assistant to the Chief Medical Officer said, “Stop playing Russian Roulette with your lives.” She said, “Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to protect people from diseases.”
These days anyone can say “studies have shown” or “according to top scientist” and think that we just have to follow along like sheep. Everyone who does not want to take this covid19 vaccine is not an antivaxxer. We just dont believe that because “WHO” or USA says its ok and safe then we should just sign up for a vaccine that is using new MRNA technology and less that two years of long term effect studies. Secondly, We have other “top scientist”, who also create vaccines, telling persons that these MRNA vaccines may have devastating long term effects on the autoimmune system. Yet for all we just non chalant and pushing these vaccines as the only hope and best chance for a virus with 96.7% recovery rate and still lying and saying that those recovered from the virus needs to be vaccinated when natural antibodies are way more effective.
all i am saying is give people time to weigh the facts and make informed decision in stead of fear mongering because you are being pressured from up high
Can Grenada’s Politicians please stop acting like America’s Me-to Lap-dogs.
Remember back in Feb 2020 when these same people were calling Trump a Xenophobic Racist for banning travel to China.? Now in 2021 Biden is doing it….yet despite all we now know about CV19 ….its okay to ban travel from India and Brazil. Ahhhh…. the stench of hypocracy in the morning!
Too late for Brazil but anyway, this decision was needed!
