Gov’t has shut us out as COVID spreads to our districts — Penn, Fraser
Penn (left) and Fraser
With the COVID-19 virus now reaching the communities of East End/Long Look and Sea Cow’s Bay, district representatives for those areas have said government has kept them in the dark regarding information on the matter.
Responding to questions at a media conference on Wednesday, Eighth District Representative Marlon Penn and Third District Representative Julian Fraser described the current atmosphere in their respective constituencies as ‘very uncomfortable’.
Penn said he had made several attempts to gather information from the government regarding the direct impact of COVID-19 within his district but was unsuccessful.
“I sent a message in the House of Assembly chat asking for a conversation between all the elected members. We need to understand. If not the specifics, we need to understand what we are up against so we could prepare our constituencies for the eventuality … This is not a ‘government against Opposition’ situation,” said Penn who is also Leader of Opposition.
“I stood right in this same room next to the Honourable Premier, giving my support to get those things done to support the people. [But] we, for some reason, recently have been shut out of any discussion on COVID-19,” he added.
Representatives need the facts
Penn further said this is not the first time government has been keeping members of the Opposition in the dark regarding information on COVID-19.
He said the Opposition had to force the government in a recent session of the House of Assembly to have a conversation with them about the recent suspected case on the sister island of Jost Van Dyke.
“We ask for a similar conversation on this recent and most pronounced spread that we’ve had to date in this territory and we’ve not yet been afforded the opportunity to sit around the table and to understand, especially somebody for who represents the largest community in this territory,” the Eighth District Representative stated.
“I need to be able to talk to my people and I need to talk with them with facts. And to be honest with you, I can’t say that I have all the facts that I can communicate clearly with my people and I think that needs to change,” Penn explained.
Have to rely on rumours from residents
Senior Opposition legislator Fraser shared similar sentiments, stating that the information he receives regarding COVID-19 in the territory is usually either through media entities, word-of-mouth or through social media messages.
Fraser referenced his recently failed attempt to gather information from the government following reports of his district being affected by the virus.
He said: “That situation that we talk about in Sea Cow’s Bay, yes, the young lady that came from Jost Van Dyke; she was in Sea Cow’s Bay whether people want to admit to it or not.”
“And when I go to the government asking them about it, it’s like I can’t get any information while the people are screening. They won’t tell me what house the person was in, I found out. They won’t tell me who the persons were with, I found out. The secret that they are keeping from me I found out by other ways because there are people in the community who know full well what was going on,” Fraser added.
Screening to be conducted
The East End/Long Look and Sea Cow’s Bay communities are among four areas across the territory which have already commenced COVID-19 screening.
The other areas include the sister Islands of Virgin Gorda and Anegada.
The BVI currently has 17 active COVID-19 cases.
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Leave it to NDP to always politicise something like this.
The preimer selfish bad. Power hungry
This is bad because it is a known fact that some government cronies know more than elected officials on the opposition side
I am glad none of these 3 c***ns are running the Country right now !
MARLON, MITCH AND FRASER NEED TO FIND AT LEAST 6 MORE DECENT CANDIDATES AND FORM AN ALLIANCE UNITY PARTY…GET RID OF MARK[gone quiet because he is making money from the lock-down food sales}, NDP, PVIM AND PU ONCE AND FOR ALL
MARLON, MITCH AND FRASER NEED TO FIND AT LEAST 6 MORE DECENT CANDIDATES AND FORM AN ALLIANCE UNITY PARTY…GET RID OF MARK, NDP, PVIM AND PU ONCE AND FOR ALL
Almost every day and night the Government holding press conferences informing the public and updating us on COVID-19, but the three of you in the dark. Strumps. This is really the weakest opposition ever. Waste of time. Only complaining because your ego suffering. Strumps.
Good they shut ayo out cause you spreading the virus of destruction.
Marlon is hungry to become Premier but not happening mah boi.
I believe that you are not playing fair political game Marlon.
You and your crew are fanning a fire to spread instead of attempting to put it out.
You need to say less.
With the greatest of absolutely NO respect for Marlon Penn, he is the one who wanted to ease the curfew and open bars now the corona in his district and the man excited because he like d*******ion to show he c*******g face. STFU and wear your mask properly … Too bad people have to deal with his s*******y. …
No you got it wrong. Smurf power hungry. All this attention excites the **s. …
The cases just increased. The voodoo man should be ecstatic.
Listen right. Hear me out on this. The only reason why the numbers of cases will continue to climb if we don’t go on lock down.
As we are aware that we have 9 more cases, and people are going out to test. That is a hazard right there. You know why? You don’t know who’s positive and who’s negative. That way you practically setting yourself up to be exposed to the virus. .
People currently going out testing and they refuse to test because they don’t want this swab go in their nose holes
Another thing. We not on lock down, but we go out to super markets, banks, telecom offices, stores what ever. We don’t know who is who. We don’t know who’s infected and who not infected.
You touch something contaminated with the virus, we talk to someone with the virus, we touch someone with a shake of a hand or whatever the case may be, we touch these faucets in these stores after washing our hands, and then we touch ourselves to them get infected.
The point I’m trying to bring out, we must declare a lock down to prevent further community spread. Yes, I understand your intentions of not going on lock down for the instance where you want these business up and running to make our economy functional, but it’s better minimize the spread than maximize the spread to then paralyze the BVI.
Becase, what do you expect from this? People already not coming forward with the virus, more people getting infected without even knowing it, the numbers are climbing. This is so sick that people know who they been with and they not coming forward stating that they not sick or nothing.
You saying we have to live with this virus. 26 cases is a lot for bvi. For a small rock like The BVI, 26 CASES IS ALOT!!!!! You saying “We going get through this together” DECLARE A LOCK DOWN! And while we on lock down, it will be awesome if you test us inside our dorms while on the lock down.
I rest my case. You decide what’s best for your country, you’ss the man of the house. But I’m telling you this here, play your cards good. Because of corona decide to slap you with 3 Ace, you’re a dead man.
Poor babies, With Marlon’s short term as Minister of Health with only a renaming of Peeble’s on his resume I’m sure his expertise is greatly missed.
Poor we in the fourth.
No representation again? We good too.
Agree, They shut everybody out..Get people involved, work with the people to create a plan…A strong and proper plan..The Govt got no plan.
One person in a thousand has it. You have more chance of winning the lottery.
Marlon think that because he is the leader of the Opposition he will be automatically selected as the leader of the NDP next election he lie. As long as Myron want his spot back he will have to get in the back of the line.
Seems like Marlon want to be Premier so bad…
So simple you retards, Just walk around the island and ask each household what’s going on. Will only take a few days to poll the entire population.