 This afternoon is a very great occasion for us because for the Ministry of Health we have been planning over the last two months for the possibility of COVID-19 coming to us. And apart from working with our healthcare facilities, there are a number of stakeholders that we have been working closely with preparing protocols for and looking at every aspect of how we could possibly reduce the impact of COVID-19 on us, hence in Nusha. Now the schools and the Ministry of Education has been a very important stakeholder to date. Our first level of involvement was when we met with them trying to find out where our students were in relation to China, Taiwan and the different countries that were affected and they were very early were able to give us the list of where the students are and we were able to safely accommodate the return of some of our students during the last month or so. Now when we look at the etiology and the epidemiology of COVID-19, 81% of persons get very mild disease and thankfully our young children are those that go through the disease the best. They get very mild disease in all of the countries that is being affected. There's been no child who died of it. They get very mild disease, mild signs and symptoms. But I'll tell you why the schools play an extremely important role for us. First of all, the school is comprised of a lot of children in close contact with each other. So you could imagine in one classroom of 30-something children, one child coming down with it. It means the entire class will get it and in a very short period. But the other point that we note, whereas our population at risk is our 75 and up, or when we look at the disease profile for St. Lucia, persons with comorbid or concomitant diseases, that is persons with risks with other diseases, you become susceptible to developing severe disease. And the disease we've noted in other countries, about 14% develop severe disease. That is persons who may develop pneumonia or need admission. Of these, 5% get critical and about 2.5% of the entire group are those who generally pass it. So the mortality rate is not high. However, what we note in our population in St. Lucia, when we look at the risk factors, for every home where we may have somebody that we're trying to protect that is the group of elderly persons or persons with conditions, there's a school child. So our children may be at school and have very mild disease and be okay, but take it home. So it is extremely important for us to reduce the transmission within the schools because our children are very loving and very huggy and they come and grandparents and parents and aunties. So we know children getting it very mild, they'll be okay, but the rest of the family who may have diabetes or heart disease or lung disease or kidney or liver disease, they will pose a risk to the rest of the population. So we have to do what we need to do to reduce the spread and the impact at the schools. The Ministry of Education has been working with us. We've sent them, we've met with them. Last week, we were able to meet primary and secondary schools as well, all of the principals. They've received our guidelines for the school. One of the guidelines that we put to them is ensure that there is running water and soap at all of the schools and hand sanitizer at strategic points, apart from the fact that we're asking the students to come to school with hand sanitizer, but we know that not everybody can afford to have hand sanitizer every day for every child. Some children don't even have food to come to school. So we put it to the Ministry of Education to get this in a very fast way. And that way we can try to reduce that level of impact at the school. Now, in our in-country transmission plan, we have prepared education and cabinet that there's a great possibility of school closure, as we've seen in the other countries, but we're not at that level yet, but we have prepared for that possibility as well. And Dr. Bobra, who has been very concerned and I have to commend a lot of our medical and dental practitioners who have been very supportive in terms of looking at some of our gaps and bringing ideas and working with us so that we can strengthen at every level our national plans. And Dr. Bobra has been, and historically, she, her practice has always been on the ball where it comes to ensuring standards and care for outbreaks and what needs to be done. So, like, when we've had all of our outbreaks this time again, she's been communicating with us at the Ministry. And when I explain to her that one of the gaps we want very quickly, we need to get hand sanitizer in the schools because we know we have regular flu around as well. We have seen increases in flu in classes. She was very quick and very kind to be able to rally the private sector, to support the Ministry of Education in getting the hand sanitizers in the school in a very short time. And I'm really happy to see when something positive comes out of a bad situation. And I'm hoping that this sets a precedence, not just for the medical fraternity, but for the wider society where we need to adopt a standard of assisting, providing support where you can and where it is needed. So I really applaud all of those. And I have to mention all of the different persons who supported because I think it is so commendable this level of support to education, to all of our children and to all of us, because we all have parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles. We all have persons who form parts of the risk population that we need to protect from COVID-19. It's our risk population of persons with other conditions that we have to protect. So I have to mention the Rodney Bay Medical Center, Ms. Tammy Gibson, Mr. Tadias Antoine, David Cooper, Ms. Roberta Polius, Bay Gardens Coxson Company, Dr. Desma Destang, First National Bank, Mr. Fred Devoe, Mark and Jermaine Waters, Fixed Point Settler Apartments, The Marshall Family, Douglas Anthony & Company, Miranda Devoe, St. Lucia Distillers, Farrons, Le Spor, Shelley Noon, Mario Marshall, Bank of St. Lucia, Republic Bank, Flo, Everest, Jamari, Pamela Jones, Innovative Business Solutions and the Tourism Enhancement Fund. And with this donation, we'll be able to give, and I cannot forget Nat Med, for, in very short supply, to be able to provide such a large amount of the hand sanitizer, to be able to be donated to the schools and also, they also donated towards this venture. So, I am really hoping that this is the start of something even bigger, and I'm hoping that other private entities can also come on board. We generally have a tendency to wait on government to do everything, so when I see the private sector coming on board in such a big way, on behalf of the Ministry of Health, and I'm also talking for education, although I know Mr. Sipa will talk for education, but for all of us that have children, we know the importance of protecting them, and we know reducing the impact. We know that these days will come, we know it will come, it's close by, but how we plan and how we manage for it, how we prepare for it is extremely important. So, without talking too much, I think I've said a lot. Thank you. We are indeed excited about what is happening here today. We get on a daily basis recommendations from schools in terms of what they need, what they cannot do without, and basic stuff that probably on a daily basis for the health of the students, for the well-being of the students and so on, and then the sad thing about it is that we are the Ministry of Education, we cannot. It's not possible for us to meet the demand that we get every day on a daily basis. And coming now to closer home where we have this, should I say, epidemic that is about, or may hit us, let's hope it does not, all right? And then we definitely would not have been able to produce and then to have in stock or to order what the schools require. And let me thank the Ministry of Health for what you have started with the school, Lee is in with us to ensure that the students we have overseas, you know where they are at, who they are and so on. And also you have met with the principals, the primary school principals, the secondary principals, you met with the education officers and the team. And then this also brings into focus three important points. When you're about to face a situation, you need to, there are three important points you need to understand. One, be prepared. Two, be disciplined. And three, be focused. In the preparation stage, and you will understand that, for example, we constantly are faced with the situation of the mold problem at schools. Then the first step, be prepared. How prepared will we? So we will not close schools when this is happening. Then the second one, which is be disciplined. After you have prepared and then we have done all what we have done here. What is the next step? How are we going to manage what we have? Okay, that's the next step. And then the third one, which is very important, be focused. What is it? What is the problem at hand? What is the issue at hand? So we are not going to spend time on other matters. For now, we can put it to rest. We're going to be focused, because it's one issue we have at hand now that we all have to come as a team. Parents, business places, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health. Everybody, we need to come together to work this out. Because what we need to understand is that when we close school, not just the schools that are affected, not just the students that are affected, not just the teachers who may decide they may stay home, what the ministry will tell them, it is just the students who are out, you need to come back to the school. But in business places will be affected because the parents now who would have sent the children to school and they would go to work now, they are wondering, but what can we do? Then you have a number of persons, the children are at home, they don't know what to do, and then they may call now that they cannot report to work. So therefore, when you understand this, how it affects the economy, I have to again thank the business places who have understood that what they are going to do there, there is also a benefit for them because when we can prepare and protect the children, then everybody will benefit at the end. So again, on behalf of the Ministry of Education, we thank you very much. And then we will tell you that we will continue the process and we know children very well. It's unfortunate that you cannot hold hands anymore, you cannot shake hands, you cannot do, but then how will we be able to tell the children don't do that? Especially this time being the sports term, they have run a race and then they give each other a high five. How will we tell them that? So therefore, the idea of the hand sanitizer, so when you go to sports, everybody must have their hand sanitizer in the back pocket as soon as the children high five give them the hand sanitizer. Okay, but there is also something which is crucial there and then what I'm calling on what school. Ministry of Health, they have told us, Dr. Louis and then on behalf of my chief and the Ministry of Education and the PS that they must be running water. And we have a lot of schools where sometimes we continue school for the afternoon without running water. And from what we are hearing now, Wasco, we will not be able to continue school without running water. Now that will put us in a lot of problem because as I said, we know in St. Lucia a number of times we are running school, especially the afternoon without running water. So please help us. So we will not be closing school. And let me tell the parents also do not listen to fake news. Only one person that can tell you if there is no school. That's the chief education officer put advice from the prime minister. So up to this morning, a principal is calling me and some parents are calling the school to find out if there is school because they heard there is no school. So I'm telling the public, forget about that idea of you want to know from everybody if we have school, if we don't have school, just stay put. Again, the food point, just be focused. Don't take the news from anybody else. Just listen to the Ministry of Education through the chief education officer who will tell us when there is school or when there is no school. Okay, so that's just a little bit of advice I want to tell the public. So don't panic. There is no need to panic. No need to panic, okay? School will continue as usual. This has been the sports term. We are going to do our best. We are going to ensure that the instruction that we give to the children, okay? We are very productive in the process. And above all, the most important thing, their health, that is their wealth, that is the future. Sociologists tell you, if you want to know what the future will be the next 10 years, come to see what is happening at the school. So therefore, if we are going to have a future for the next 10 years, we need to have the children at school. Thank you very much again on Ministry of Education. My heart is very full to announce that we are actually, as of this moment, at 206 gallons of hand sanitizers to be donated to the schools. When Dr. Belma was speaking, I checked and the conversation we had was Tuesday about 8.15 last week. And by Wednesday night, we had what we thought was the quota of 122. So I have to tell you that when I told her, no problem, I will reach around and help. I actually thought I was doing it for like 50 schools. I didn't know, I didn't have a clue how many we had. So when she sent me the updated numbers and I saw 122, I sort of panicked. And I started sending WhatsApps and calling people I know. And I just said, you know what? If this is meant to be, it will work. And I am so pleased that the community got together. And I know the tendency is to say they will do it and the government should be doing it. But I'm here to tell you, we need to stop that and reach across politics and race and gender and opinions and know that corona is coming and it's gonna hit all of us irregardless of everything that we think of. So if we don't work together and if we don't put our hands together and put our hearts together, we're not going to get anywhere with this. So to have now, I said 206 gallons to be donated to the schools, it's mind boggling to think that in six days we could have put that together. But we couldn't have done it without the response of the community. Some of the business houses immediately told me I'll give you 50% of it or I'll give you 10, I'll give you, some people gave me 20 immediately. I thought I was going to do this in two and three gallons at a time. So we were able to do this in the majority of it was in under a week. So let's take what the ministry's saying. And I am here as a private physician. I do not work with the government to announce that I have full confidence in what the ministry of health is telling me. There's so much fake news going around their conspiracy theories. I think we need to stop that. It's critical that we understand that there's no reason for them to lie because we're all affected. We all have an elderly parent. We all have a relative. We're all at the forefront of this. So there's no reason for us to throw the wool over your eyes. We are telling you the truth and I have full confidence in the ministry of health telling me what to do and what is going on. So please, we heard from the ministry of education. Let's listen to what they're saying regarding school closures. But let's listen to the, as far as I'm concerned, the gold standard in the information coming out, which is the ministry of health. And I think the time has come for us to stop hearing stuff and spreading fake news because I think actually it's criminal or what some of people are trying to do. We need to stop the panic. It is going to come. It's a self-limiting disease for many of us. We're gonna be fine. But we need to take the necessary precautions, wash your hands. And what really makes me feel good as well is that this is all locally made. This is a St. Lucian company manufacturing this according to international standards. Many people question that. This has been manufactured according to international standards. When I called Mrs. Segovia of NatMed, she immediately said, yeah, we'll do it. We'll just give you. And she gave us a really good price on this. So I think this is, as Dr. Belmar said, a lesson for all of us that together we can make things work and stop looking for them. Why don't they do this? Why are they doing that? Them is us. And we need to start to understand that very clearly that it's only if we start to put our heads, our hearts and our hands together can we make something of this, something good come out of this. And this is, I hope, is just the beginning of the partnership between the public and private sector. And one last thing, I didn't just do it out of the top of my head. I got permission from CMO to do this. So if anybody out there is saying I could help or whatever, please make sure that this is exactly what we need. Before you go out and say I'm going to collect stuff, just make sure that you are giving them exactly what they need. Liaise with Dr. Belmar, she's very approachable. She'll tell you exactly what you need. So you may, you know, I'm afraid that people will say, okay, I'll just donate this or whatever. Let's try and do this in a very organized manner and don't panic. I think that's the last word I have. Please don't panic. Thank you.