SOE, Curfew and COVID-19

Port of Spain is usually one of the busiest cities in the Caribbean with the booming of entrepreneurial and artistic activity. Many people stroll through the hustle and bustle of early-morning vendors while shopping for handmade goods, fruits and vegetables, to get to work, school or just do touristy things. The nearby promenade allowed you to survey the entire scene while feeding the occasional pigeons. Word of caution though, don’t let yourself get drawn into an impromptu game of chess because chances are you are going to lose. However, these scenes are now somewhat memories of the average avid “town-goer” as activity has been put on pause for what could be a further ninety (90) days. This comes after Cabinet is in the process of debating an extension of the SOE and curfew to August. This decision was made on Monday 24th May in Parliament as the country entered its second week of lockdown.

Initially Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley declared a State of Emergency in Trinidad and Tobago on May 15th in an attempt to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country. In addition to the SOE an 8-hour curfew from 9pm-5am has been imposed with some exceptions to essential services including the energy sector, supermarkets, and pharmacies.

The last time there was an SOE in T&T was in 2011 in response to a wave of violent crimes linked to drug trafficking, where, according to Police Commissioner Gary Griffith “every man and his dog asked for a curfew permit, and it was practically given.” However, he has since made it clear that would not be the case this time around, after the country is currently experiencing what is being called the third wave of COVID in the country. In that SOE over one thousand (1000) persons were detained. Another previously declared SOE in the country was in 1990, when the extremist group Jamaat al Muslimeen tried to overthrow the government.

Fast-forward to thirty one (31) years to today, Trinidad and Tobago is not the only Caribbean island under an SOE or curfew during this pandemic. Curfew measures are currently in place in many jurisdictions across the world. In our region, these are some of the curfew restrictions that are in place at this time:

At Media InSite we continue to track the Media Mentions of the SOE and we noticed from April 26th – present there have been 37.2K mentions of the word State of Emergency peaking over the last week. We also found some of the Top Themes to be “Curfew”, “Lockdown” and “Emergency” which are just a few key drivers for the Sentiment Overtime.

As the pandemic continues to spiral out of control and the COVID-19 parallel health care system becomes closer to being overwhelmed authorities could reimpose, extend, ease, or otherwise amend any restrictions with little-to-no notice. Monday’s debate will be a determining factor on whether the SOE will be extended to 3 months, as for now the Public Health Regulations will be extended to July 4th, 2021.

With a population spanning more than 1.3 million people, Trinidad and Tobago registered 20,267 infections (from 12th March 2020 to Present), 8,150 of them active, and 390 deaths, health ministry data showed as of Monday 24th May 2021. Over 67, 324 people have received their first vaccine dose but only 1,179 of these have received a second dose. However, with the recent shipment of vaccines (SIGNOPHARM), there is hope of our population at large. A mass vaccination drive with everyone on board- politicians, business community, religious leader, NGOs and citizens themselves. In the meantime, the lockdown restrictions must be strictly adhered to by everyone in order to win this battle against COVID-19.