Business View Caribbean | May 2021

3 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN MAY 2021 O p e n i n g L i n e s M A Y 2 0 2 1 T he Caribbean COVID-19 Tourism Task Force is calling for continued diligence and adherence to public health safety protocols and encourages all tourism-related stakeholders who are able to do so to be vaccinated as vaccines become available. The Caribbean has generally been successful in containing the virus over the past year to levels below that which is being experienced in many parts of the world. COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, and death rates are among the lowest in the world. This has been attributed to the early and ongoing response by many Caribbean governments, health care and tourism HEALTH SAFETY DILIGENCE AND VACCINES KEY TO CARIBBEAN’S TOURISM RECOVERY industry leaders, and the large number of Caribbean residents who have adhered to health safety protocols. The task force cautions that now is not the time to “let down our guard”, as the next several months will determine how quickly the tourism- dependent region will be able to rebound. Tourism is viewed by many as the catalyst for getting people back to work and restoring much needed revenue that governments have lost due to the pandemic. “We are now in a race against time,” cautioned Dr. Joy St. John, Executive Director for the