The "Is The COVID-19 Too Big To Handle?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Wishing I had been packing my suitcase for my usual visit to the Caribbean this time of year.  Carol and I have been taking vacations in the Caribbean since my retirement over 20 years ago.  Most years we travel in the spring, soon after the Caribbean busy season is over mid-April.  Our plane was due to depart Philadelphia in early June this year for the island of St. Martin/Sint Maarten, but that particular island has been closed to visitors due to COVID-19.  My guess is that just about every island in the Caribbean has been closed to travelers until further notice.  I'm sure they don't want, or need more cases of the virus than they already have.  We live in the state of Pennsylvania and as of 8:49 AM today Pennsylvania has 29,441 cases of the Coronavirus with 756 deaths.  In Lancaster County, my home county, we have 1,030 positive cases of the virus with 90 deaths.  Lancaster County is known for having some of the best retirement communities in the country, but retirement age people are one of the largest sections of the population that are susceptible to the virus.  The second largest group is African Americans.  

The islands of the Caribbean

So, how well is the Caribbean handling the COVID-19.  They certainly don't want more visitors bringing the virus to their shore, since they already have plenty of the number one and number two most susceptible groups on their islands.  Now, it is true that the United States has several territories that are part of the Caribbean and they are in the process of trying to keep the disease off their islands.  According to an article I recently read about "Trouble In Paradise," the population of all of the islands of the Caribbean is just under 44 million who live on about one million square miles of land in the Caribbean.  The population of The United States Virgin Islands is about 104,000 people on St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John.  Close to 3/4 of those living on these islands is aged 60 and over which is the same group that comprises the most cases of COVID-19 and deaths in the States.  That just doesn't look good to anyone examining the numbers.  Most islands are closed to visitors, but all they need is to have a few cases to begin to spred the virus through the Caribbean.  The Caribbean has dealt with infectious blight before when illnesses such as dengue fever and chikungunya, both mosquito-borne viruses, struck the islands.  

Photo of Carol and I during 2010 on the island of Sint Maarten.
We had just arrived and the Swine Flu was on the island.

But, this new virus is an unprece- dented foe with testing ability and resultant contain- ment remaining sparse.  As of a few days ago in the Virgin Islands, there have been 51 cases of active coronavirus infection.  Social distancing, closing of beaches, creating curfews, staggering timing of supermarket closures, wearing of masks and closing non-essential businesses are all being instituted on most Caribbean islands to try and stop the virus before it gets a strong foothold.  The Prime Minister of Sint Maarten, Silveria Jacobs, has given one of the strongest speeches of any leader with her unwavering order to "Simply. Stop. Moving."  The economy in the United States will recover eventually, but for the economies of the Caribbean Islands, it can be devastating.  And, just because they have crystal clear turquoise water with white sandy beaches, it will be a long time before their economy returns to normal.  Most islands rely on tourism and getting tourists back real quick may be hard to do.  Plus, the 2020 hurricane season begins in a few weeks and limits tourists trips for almost half a year.  COVID-19 is a real problem that will take years to overcome.  Here's hoping most people have that many years left in their lifetime.  It was a another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.