Aye-Yi-Yi.  A small, highly social country; limited healthcare; LOTS of international visitors because it was the high tourism season.

 

What could go wrong?  What can go right?

 

It’s been fascinating watching how different countries have responded to the COVID-19 threat and seeing the varied responses ranging from severe lockdowns to a wait and see attitude – and everything in between.  This post describes the actions the Grenadian government has taken in response to the COVD-19 virus.

 

Grenada has a population of about 110,000 people. As of April 6, 2020, we have 12 known cases of COVID-19 in Grenada. This low infection rate is a tremendous example of what can go right.

The government aggressively began protecting our citizens as the dire virus situation unfolded globally.  Each bullet point below describes an action taken by the government to contain the spread of the virus.

• 3/16/2020 – All schools closed, and online learning would begin two days later. Social distancing became mandatory. Non-essential businesses were encouraged to work remotely or severely reduce their hours of operation.

 

• 3/16/2020 – The Grenadian government began prohibiting cruise ship passengers from disembarking.

 

• 3/20/2020 – Live-on-board and pleasure boat passengers were no longer allowed to come ashore. Marinas arranged to supply provisions to boaters.

 

• 3/20/2020 – Prime Minister, Dr. the Right Honorable Keith Mitchell, announced an economic stimulus package to blunt the effect of business losses due to the virus.

 

• 3/21 and 3/22/2020 – International students enrolled at St. George’s University left Grenada on multiple, chartered flights. Lines at the airport were insanely long, and it felt like flights were taking off every 30 minutes for most of both days.

 

• 3/21/2020 – No travelers recently in Iran, South Korea, China, or Europe would be permitted to fly to Grenada. Only Grenadian nationals could travel home from those countries.  All returning citizens and people from other countries completed a health form upon entry into Grenada and self-quarantined for 14 days.

 

• 3/22/2020 – No travelers recently in the United States would be permitted to fly to Grenada.

 

• 3/22/2020 – The government documented the first case of COVID-19 in Grenada. A Grenadian national, who traveled from the UK on 3/16, became symptomatic on 3/17.  The government fiercely conducted contact tracing.  Through aggressive contact tracing, they identified six people connected to this first case, who later tested positive for the virus.

 

• 3/24/2020 – The airport stopped all regularly scheduled incoming and outgoing commercial flights.

 

• 3/24/2020 – Cargo ship crews were prohibited from taking shore leave.

 

• 3/24/2020 – The Government established the COVID-19 Economic Support Secretariat (CESS) to implement the Economic Stimulus package announced by the Prime Minister on 3/20.

 

• 3/25/2020 – Grenada instituted a limited State of Emergency curfew from 7 pm to 5 am. All businesses were required to conduct work remotely or shut down.  The only exceptions were grocers, doctors, and medical personnel and services, gas stations, take away food sources, hardware stores, ports, banks, security guards, fishers, and farmers.

 

On 3/26, testing confirmed the six additional cases.  All cases were associated with the original case. One person had flown in on the same flight as the first case and had sat within 6 feet of her.  The other five cases were all in the same household as the original case.  All six had been in quarantine, reducing the potential spread of the virus.

On 3/28, two new cases tested positive, bringing the total number of cases to nine. One person was a relative of one of the passengers that arrived in Grenada from New York on 3/17.  The other case arrived from the UK on the same flight as the first patient and sat within six feet of her.

 

• 3/30/2020 – The government enacted National Disaster Emergency Measures because not enough people were staying home and, when assembling, they were not staying 6 feet apart.

 

Key provisions of the National Disaster Emergency Measures include:

• No one, other than deemed essential workers, would be allowed off their property at any time – this included not taking walks or visiting with neighbors. The only exceptions were to obtain emergency medical services or to buy emergency food.

 

• All supermarkets closed indefinitely. Local shops could only be open from 8 to12 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Only one person per household could go out to get groceries.

 

• Police, stationed at parish boundaries, ensured that no one would travel from one parish to another unless they had a special pass identifying them as an essential worker. If someone is on the road due to a medical emergency, the police monitor them from the checkpoint to the medical facility.

 

• No one can host or attend a social function – including weddings or funerals.

 

• No alcohol can be sold (I think this is to discourage people from breaking the curfew to have a drink or socialize).

These Emergency Measures will be in effect through April 6^th (and may get extended).

 

On 4/1, Grenada reported the 10^th case of COVID-19.  The individual had traveled from the US on 3/19 and began showing symptoms on 3/30.

On 4/3, the government identified two additional cases, bringing the total cases to 12. One was a person on the 3/16 UK flight.  The other was a taxi driver who was found through contact tracing and was quarantined.  He developed symptoms on 4/1 and tested positive for the virus.

Leadership in Action

Nicolas Steele, The Minister of Health; Dr. George Mitchell, COVID – 19 Coordinator; Dr. Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister; have all been visible and active.  They’ve communicated frequent updates, honestly assessing the situation.

The news stations and radio stations have been broadcasting updates continuously and are encouraging people to take precautions to stay safe and well. Grenada has newspapers, but they only publish once a week.  Radio and TV stations and their Facebook pages have been invaluable in delivering breaking news and information to the public and dispelling rumors.

The US, Canadian, and Grenadian embassies post essential updates on their sites almost daily. Alerts announce special flight arrangements to repatriate citizens to their home countries.  These specially scheduled flights are carrying no inbound passengers, and the flight crews are required to stay on board.  The last planned flight to the US (April 6) left a few hours ago.

Police are active and are stopping people who break curfew.  Lawbreakers receive fines and may face arrest.

 

What could go wrong?

 

If people don’t take the emergency measure seriously, there could be a massive outbreak of the virus here, which could be devastating.

Grenada’s healthcare capability is limited. We have four respirators on the island.  To date, two people were hospitalized and released, and two more have been hospitalized and are in stable condition. Fifteen more respirators are on their way to the island. Doctors from Cuba have arrived to assist local physicians.

All international cases of COVID-19 came from people entering the country between March 16^th to the 22^nd, before the airport closed on 3/23.  Could the airports have been closed earlier? Probably yes, but events on the ground and around the world were happening so quickly that only in hindsight can this be easily seen. The first case wasn’t identified in Grenada until 3/22.

Some people who were in mandatory quarantine ignored or didn’t fully comply with the restrictions.  Stricter quarantine measures and checks have been put into place to correct this going forward.

One quarantined person (who had been tested and was waiting for results) illegally fled the island on 3/28 with his family on one of the last flights to Canada.  They then traveled onward to the UK. Two hours after the airplane left Grenada, the test results confirmed that the person had the COVID-19 virus.

What was that person thinking?  He put his wife and child, the airport workers, flight crews, and other passengers at risk on two flights.  People have been commenting on social media that the government should have confiscated people’s passports when they went into quarantine.  But who would have expected such irresponsible behavior?  We can only hope the long-term effects of this action are minimal.

Because of this action of dishonestly and recklessness, Grenada has invoked the Quarantine Act, initially enacted in December 1947. Persons breaking quarantine receive a $10K fine and 6-month imprisonment. Also, any individual who attempts to breach the Quarantine Act will be forcibly quarantined in public facilities.

No more Mister Nice Guy. No more trusting people to do the right thing.

The next weeks will tell us if the current restrictions are enough to protect our citizens.

Even if they are enough, two big questions remain: When does Grenada reopen our borders to nationals, ex-pats, and visitors to return to our beautiful island?  And, can we open our country without experiencing a new wave of infections?  Countries all over the world are pondering these questions as some areas become re-infected with a second wave of the virus as quarantines end, and airports reopen.

Hopefully, the actions taken to date will limit exposure enough that the virus can begin to die out in Grenada. People are desperate to return to their jobs and be social once again.

NOTE:  This post will be updated as new information becomes available.  Any additions will be highlighted in bold type.