To contain the spread of COVID-19, the government of St Kitts and Nevis declared a State of Emergency on 28th March 2020. Since that declaration, we’ve had a combination on 24-hour and partial curfew days and our borders have been closed. This quick action by the government has been effective and the number of COVID-19 cases has remained fairly low. We have had 15 cases, 8 of those cases have recovered and we haven’t had a new case in over 10 days.
Whilst this is all good news in terms of the pandemic, the closure of our borders and the lock-downs have been devastating to our economy which is heavily dependent on tourism. This has led to many businesses shutting their doors, school closures, and people being laid-off or placed on reduced hours. This has created a lot of anxiety and uncertainty about the future which the government has tried to address through a number of support programmes such as the COVID-19 Relief Fund, the expansion of the Poverty Alleviation Programme, moratoriums on utility bill payments, a range of social services to support the vulnerable and psychological support to address the mental health impact of the pandemic.
One service, which we have been delighted to be assisting with is the COVID-19 Helpline. This is a service established by the Ministry of Health and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to give the public someone to easily reach out to if they have a COVID-19 related question, need support during this time and are concerned that they may have COVID-19 symptoms. When the public calls 311, their concerns are discussed with a friendly helpline operator (like us 😊) and then they are signposted to the relevant government department or an NGO for their issue to be addressed.
It has been very fulfilling volunteering with the helpline and being able to help those who are experiencing a number of challenges during this time. We’re just so happy that the support available in the Federation is comprehensive and holistic. So far, there has been a programme to address all the concerns we have had from callers and many have ended the call feeling happier and more at peace.
If you are based in St Kitts and Nevis and have a question about COVID-19, curfew timings, the COVID-19 relief fund, then please don’t’ hesitate to call 311 (it’s a free call). To find out more about the helpline, you can view the video below and for general information about COVID-19 in St Kitts and Nevis, you can visit https://www.covid19.gov.kn/
