Government is not daunted by a recent advisory from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),that listed Grenada as a high risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission, and has advised US citizens to avoid non-essential travel here.
“We have seen it, I have read it,” commented Minister Norland Cox during Tuesday’s post Cabinet briefing. However, he stated, “We are not disturbed by that and we know that persons who are looking on, know that Grenada is doing all in its power to ensure that visitors and citizens remain safe.”
Senator Cox said from his reading, the main justification for placing Grenada on that list has to do with the capacity of Grenada’s health sector if there is a major outbreak here.
The August 06, 2020 CDC advisory warned travelers that “If you get sick in Grenada and need medical care, resources may be limited.”
Nevertheless, Cox said “while that may be seen as a negative, we are well aware that we do not have any known community spread currently [of COVID-19] in Grenada and our protocols are structured in such a way to trap positive persons at the border with the view of ensuring that Grenadians are safe. We are very confident about the protocols that we have in place and we are very proud of where we are today as a country.”
Noting that the Tourism sector in all countries took a major hit due to COVID-19, Cox expressed that he doesn’t think the advisory will have a significant negative impact on Grenada’s tourism industry, if at all. This, he said as visitors usually investigate to make a personal determination to travel to any country despite advisories.
Minister Cox however pointed to Grenada being among the latest destinations to begin using the world’s first ever global safety and hygiene stamp, launched recently by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
WTTC, which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, created the Safe Travels stamp to allow travelers to identify destinations and businesses around the world which have adopted the global standardised health and hygiene protocols – for safe travel.
This, the Minister hopes will counter whatever negative impact the CDC advisory may have. “We will be ok,” he stated.
