The extension of opening hours at beaches, which takes effect on January 31, continues the process of gradually lifting restrictions imposed since the arrival of COVID-19 in this country.
Sea bathers will be able to soak up the ambience at their favourite beaches from 5 am to 6 pm, although public health bans on alcohol, music and parties will continue to be enforced. The same applies to reef and swamp tours which have been cleared to operate at a 50 per cent capacity.
The gradual resumption of in-person classes will enter a new phase from February 7 with return to schools for students of Forms 1-3 and those preparing for the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) examinations. However, there will still be circumstances where schools may revert to temporary virtual school operations on a case-by-case basis, as a part of the Ministry of Education’s overall COVID management strategy.
All these are indictors of T&T transitioning to a new normal, learning to co-exist with the coronavirus which may never be completely eradicated.
Government and its key policy makers have already come to the realization that the benefits lifting the restrictions far outweigh the risks of extensive locks. Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said as much when he hosted a COVID-19 briefing two Saturdays ago. According to Dr Rowley, only in “untoward circumstances” is the country likely to go back into lockdown.
So, the challenge now is to carefully ramp up operations, keep the economy going, even as T&T grapples with community spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
Many other countries are heading in the same direction, including the United Kingdom which will waive the COVID-19 test requirement for fully vaccinated travelers entering the country from February 11. France will begin rolling back restrictions over the next few weeks as a new vaccine pass is implemented which will require people to present proof of full vaccination to enter public venues such as restaurants and museums.
There is now a realization that lockdowns and other extreme restrictions cannot be sustained for the long term.
Faced with the possibility that COVID-19 might never go away, experts and health organizations have been suggesting that it may remain in an endemic state after the pandemic ends.
The likeliest scenario is that the disease becomes endemic in large segments of the world, constantly circulating among but causing fewer cases of severe disease until it eventually becomes just a mild nuisance years from now.
The future for T&T looks like a careful shift back to some semblance of normalcy as part of a long-term strategy involving vaccinations and other transmission-blocking measures, such as face masks and physical distancing.
There will also have to be ongoing surveillance of the disease as well as efforts to make tests easier to distribute and carry out.
More than ever, success will require support from the public which will be challenging since there are signs of resistance from some segments of the population.
Therefore, there must be ongoing exercises to raise public awareness and gain trust with the aim of never again resorting to lockdowns and restrictions, which were hard on citizens and the economy.