Cuban medical team commence duties | BVI now reopening borders with ‘greater sense of confidence’
The Cuban medical team with Premier Andrew Fahie (front, left) and Health Minister Carvin Malone at the Terrance B Lettsome Airport on Beef Island recently. (GIS photo)
Premier Andrew Fahie said the British Virgin Islands is more confident in its border reopening efforts now that the Cuban medical brigade has commenced duties at the BVI Health Services Authority.
The 22-member team that comprises internist doctors, intensive care specialist and nurses, emergency response doctors, as well as those trained in infectious diseases, just ended their mandatory 14-day quarantine and all tested negative for COVID-19.
“The team is now going through orientation and will join healthcare professionals at the BVI Health Services Authority to augment medical services and further strengthen the territory’s resolve in the fight against COVID-19,” Fahie said in a media release from the Office of the Premier on Tuesday afternoon, August 11.
He continued: “We anticipate that the addition of the medical professionals to the team will assist the territory in opening up with a greater sense of confidence in the fact that adequate specialised treatment capacity will now be available in the territory.”
The media release did not mention anything about now extending entry into the territory to non-locals.
Milestone
In the meantime, Premier Fahie described having the Cuban team in the territory is an important milestone.
“We have long been aware that Cuba is a centre for excellence in treating various diseases, and has been a partner to many countries in the region in the area of healthcare. This is indeed a historic moment for the territory as it also provides the opportunity for advanced medical training for the BVI Health Services team. This is an important milestone in the history of the territory, not only in our healthcare but in our capacity building,” he stated.
He also placed expressed his gratitude to Cuba for facilitating the territory’s request for the medical personnel.
The Premier further said the Spanish-speaking nation honoured the request, “in a spirit of humanitarianism and solidarity with the people of the Virgin Islands”.
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So, now the BVI is a concentration camp AND a commune! Okay comrades.
You all have people from the U.S. and USVI locked out. Be careful now – turnaround is fair play. After this crisis is over, you may very well find your favored immigration status with the U.S. and ability to enter the U.S. Virgin Islands without visas discontinued by the U.S. State Department because of this cozying up to a communist state like Cuba!
Carry on…
Not only will immigration by the racist Belonger into the US be examined, export of products from the US will also be scrutinized. If the BVI wishes to keep Americans out then the US should do the same along with not allowing cruise ship companies to stop in the BVI. Fair is fair. Have fun with your d**b a** Cubans. Cuban doctors that come to the US are allowed to mop hospital floors with their Cuban medical degrees.
Two proven drugs:
-Remdesivir
-Dexamethasone
But they are only here for three months, we now learn. So they will be gone before we have barely opened up the borders.
People are so focused on pushing their own agenda and their selfishness that they are so blind to see what has been going on this entire time. Let me call a spade a spade. Throughout our history people have complained about the skill and the expertise of our hospital. People prefer to go away for treatment for anything they consider a risk. This has been a practice and a common understanding since forever.
Now you really think that the BVI with a new virus like Covid19 was ever prepared to handle something as potentially bad as this. Of course not. Government knew it and smart people knew it. They wouldn’t come out and say it and make the staff look inept or cause people to worry but they knew this could have been a disaster. We only had one bad case of Covid19 and that person died. I’m not gonna speculate on the circumstances but think about it. Then even with no cases we still brought in those 22 Cuban doctors. Think about it.
While y’all were eager to go out and have fun and others were complaining about opening borders the government was doing things to save lives and restrict the transmission of Covid19. That’s why they have continued the curfew and lockout for so long. Our hospital wasn’t ready for it like having an asthma attack with no inhaler. Forget all the other crap about doing it for money, hate expats etc. The issue was something we always knew about but got distracted because of all the negative talk.
So does this mean the borders will reopen?
…Can we lift the damn curfew and stop the fear mongering now? If we wait until next month or next year, COVID will be here and we will have to deal with it so why not proceed with phased opening so that we can deal with it as it comes. We now have sufficient medical personnel on island.
Please open the border ASAP for WP holders who still have jobs waiting in the Island and a valid work permit! We need our job after locking down outside BVI for half year. I am begging please…
WHy is the Cuban medical team here if we have zero cases and borders remaining closed? WHo is paying their bills and wages??
Really? I swear to God this reality show gets better every day. Just when you think it can’t get more full of $hit. This statement just has me scratching my head!
“We have long been aware that Cuba is a centre for excellence in treating various diseases, and has been a partner to many countries in the region in the area of healthcare. This is indeed a historic moment for the territory as it also provides the opportunity for advanced medical training for the BVI Health Services team. This is an important milestone in the history of the territory, not only in our healthcare but in our capacity building,” he stated.
Really? I swear to God this reality show gets better every day. Just when you think it can’t get more full of $hit. This statement just has me scratching my head!
“We have long been aware that Cuba is a centre for excellence in treating various diseases, and has been a partner to many countries in the region in the area of healthcare. This is indeed a historic moment for the territory as it also provides the opportunity for advanced medical training for the BVI Health Services team. This is an important milestone in the history of the territory, not only in our healthcare but in our capacity building,” he stated.
Doing what right now? Apart from the 1 case what are the doctors doing right now?? Wasting tax payers money. And the persons who paying those taxes cannot benefit from it.
You know…
I remember another Caribbean island that brought in Cuban doctors, engineers, and “advisors” once. Seems they got a visit from the US marines….
The ignorance is bliss. Nonchalantly Reopen the border, feel the pain.
Justification of $40.000000from social security . Politicians are like hyenas. You cannot give hyenas to mind goats. Just now the honeymoon with the cubans will be over. The ungrateful ones will declare them persona non grata.
Reading news from BVI from abroad…what the f… is going on? You have a very interesting way of doing things. You could easy test the whole population in a week. Then you could reopen everything. Put up a quarantine-hotell for everybody coming into the islands. You are complicating things.
This Government is a wicked government, a very cold and heartless set of people. Think about what u r doing locking people out from their family and young children that they left behind with no one to take care of them. How could you be so cold hearted. Covid19 is going no were. It’s here to stay for a while. Get over your self and put in proper boarder entry policy.
Doctors from anywhere can’t do much without the modern sophisticated medical scanners, respirators, imaging and other equipment that save virus infected persons. Perhaps the UK could send one of theirs along with the Argus and Medway?
Strange that the very expats grouping that the government and people so vehemently opposed and wish to lock out, are the same group receiving high praises for the confident border reopening.
Can the BVI really survive without expats? We may despise, downgrade, discriminate and criticize, but expats are the cornerstone of BVI development and success.
Its time the borders are fully reopened, but with caution. This current economic downturn needs shifting to a state of recovery!
Can someone explain why we have all these Cubans here when we have hundreds of new high school graduates looking for work who could be filling these positions??
This is the unfortunate mentality of wishful entitlement. Notwithstanding our desire to have our young graduates employed, I doubt whether they will be sufficiently trained, qualified or competent, to perform the duties expected with composure and professionalism.
Its called preparation yiu set if negative jack donkeys
You really retarded