Dominica Will Take Preventative Measures and Not Close Borders for COVID-19

Dominica will take preventative measures to deal with Coronavirus and not close its borders. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit made this revelation at the National Emergency Planning Organization (NEPO) conference attended by Caribbean heads of government in Barbados.

Skerrit said the country will adopt preventative measures recommended by the WHO, PAHO, CARPHA, and adopted by CARICOM governments instead of restricting travel or closing borders.

“We don’t believe, based on advice from the WHO, that we need to close our borders because if we start closing our borders then what [will be] the other implications?” he stated. “I think there are preventive and preventative measures that we can take, there are systems that we are putting at the ports of entry and I believe that if we follow the protocols that have been advised by the WHO and PAHO and CARPHA and what were recently adopted at the Caricom Heads Meeting.”

Skerrit, who is chairman of NEPO, added that the coronavirus epidemic is a crisis of global proportions affecting over 50 countries and more than 80,000 people. He said some of the economic challenges brought about by the worldwide epidemic include revised financial projections for 2020, shuttered businesses, disrupted supply chains, and employee layoffs among others. For Dominica, however, “the economic impact is secondary to ensuring that it doesn’t affect any citizens of Dominica,” he said.

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