Dear Editor,
The Omicron variant, suspected to be less lethal than its cousin Delta, however more contagious/extremely transmissible, will lead to changes in operational guidelines and policies across the world. Public health agencies and others are currently grappling with the surge in active cases, including St. Maarten.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said this week that there was still not enough data available to say whether the Omicron variant is less severe than other COVID-19 strains.
The public and private sectors coming out of festive season are now confronted with a surge in COVID-19 cases. One public utility company has announced changes to its office opening days/times due to the increase in COVID-19. It has also stepped up guidelines in dealing with customers once they arrive at the office.
Public health officials have stressed the need to get boosted in order to protect yourself, other people and the public health service such as St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) and the home for senior citizens. The White and Yellow Cross Care Foundation this week announced new guidance pertaining to visitors in order to protect its clients, staff, and visitors as a response to the surge in active COVID-19 cases in the country.
In 2020, there were 1.8 million recorded COVID-19 deaths; while in 2021, there were 3.5 million and this could be much higher, according to the WHO. The Delta variant took over in 2021. St. Maarten also experienced its largest number of deaths in 2021 due to the Delta variant.
The WHO epidemiologist Dr. Abdi Mahamud noted that an increasing number of studies seemed to show that the Omicron variant appeared to affect mostly the upper respiratory tract, causing milder symptoms. Other strains impact the lungs, and could cause severe pneumonia, a WHO epidemiologist said, but further research was needed to prove this Omicron assessment.
The WHO is pushing for countries to vaccinate 70 per cent of their populations, adding that without this level of vaccine protection, the virus “replicates in an environment that’s overcrowded, not ventilated and not vaccinated,” Dr. Mahamud continued, describing these types of settings as ideal places for COVID-19 to mutate.
“We saw it in Beta, we saw it in Delta, we saw it in Omicron, so it is in the global interest” to vaccinate 70 per cent of national populations to reduce the impact of the variant, he said.
The WHO says, “So the main message is, if you are vaccinated, you are protected, but if you are vulnerable or if you have not been vaccinated, this Omicron – however light or mild it may be for others – it could hit you very hard,” Dr. Mahamud said. “So, vaccination (is) very critical.”
Roddy Heyliger
Said the robin to the sparrow:
“I would really like to know
why these anxious human beings
rush about and worry so?”
Said the sparrow to the robin:
“Oh, I think it must be that they
have no Heavenly Father
such as cares for you and me.”
(Author unknown)
I don’t know if there are many people like me, but on the last night of the year, I always have a fear of what the new year might bring. Every year, many people all over the world lose their life, or the lives of one or more loved ones, or their home and life savings due to calamities; hurricanes, all-consuming fires, destructive floods, car/train/plane accidents, or violence by a fellow human being. Not to mention a variant of COVID-19, which will no doubt continue to take lives this year.
I lost a brother just five months ago. He was seven years younger than me. Unlike me, he was a cheerful and fun-loving extrovert; always outgoing and friendly. the life of every party and family get-together. There was always more fun when Mario was present. He was more popular and had more friends and acquaintances than I, an introvert, will ever have. He had made funeral arrangements for all already-departed family members and I was looking forward to him doing the same for me. But alas, that was not to be.
I was shocked by the suddenness and unexpectedness of his departure. I was working at home on my computer one afternoon in July when my phone beeped. My first reaction was to ignore the beep as it beeped multiple times a day and I did not want to be distracted from my work.
After all, the message would still be there after I got through working later that night, or even the following day.
However, my gut told me to read it now. After trying in vain to ignore my gut, I decided to read the message. It was from my sister and it read: Mario is down; please pray. Still not too alarmed, I asked her how serious it was, and the reply was: very serious, please pray. I immediately got on my knees and pleaded with God for His mercy. “Please let him live and not die.” A few seconds later my phone beeped again. “Mario is gone; he is in God’s hands.” Needless to say, I was speechless. It will take a long time for it to dawn on me that he is really gone. Family get-togethers will no longer be the same without him.
The tragic death of a 13-year-old girl on the very first day of the new year has weighed very heavily on my heart over the weekend. It will be on many minds for a very long time to come. Forever entrenched in the minds of the families and loved ones involved. Please pray for both families, the victim’s family but also the family of the offender. Both families are suffering. May God help them to be strong and comfort them the way only He can.
God tells us in His Word that five sparrows were sold for two pennies, yet not one of them is forgotten in His sight; not one of them falls to the ground without His knowledge. Don’t be afraid, He tells us; He assures us that we are worth more than many sparrows.
So, in spite of our fears, (mine go away after two or three days) let’s not worry about what the new year might bring. God loves us no matter what happens in 2022. Even if we don’t see the end of the year, it is comforting to know that He is the God of the living and the dead.
I am appealing to all who read this to make a serious effort to spend more time in God’s Word this year. May God put in every heart an insatiable hunger and thirst for Him and for His Word. The best thing I can wish everybody for the new year is spiritual growth and a closer walk with our Lord. Nothing else in life matters.
Clive Hodge
Dear Editor,
We sure are a special population which takes special dates with a mushy sentiment. We are waiting for the 1st of January to enforce the testing of vaccinated Americans while knowing fully well that USA is facing a crisis with Omicron.
We are facing a crisis with double-digit and triple-digit figures of new infections daily for the past few days.
Only reason we are not seeing the same amount in our active cases is due to the reduced period now for the recovery cases to be gleefully counted.
We are facing this situation like an ostrich where we are waiting for someone to take care of this problem or just want this to miraculously disappear and when nothing happens, we will tug on the coattails of our “equal” kingdom partner Netherlands – of course keeping the rhetoric of independence in check for the time of present crisis.
Last election there was a lot of talk of diversifying the economy, etc. Of course, now that the seats are warm with the 15 parliamentarians and a few Ministers, etc., we will only depend on tourism as that’s the easiest low-hanging fruit.
With only the tourism or Netherlands bailouts cut out for our survival we have been accepting untested travelers on our shores with absolute disregard. We are still engaging with the idea of being open until 3:00am on New Year’s night. We had our “own” on the floor of parliament suggest a 6:00am permission for New Year’s night. Nations around the world are cancelling the New Year’s Eve festivities.
Of course, we will elect the same back for their incompetence to be proactive and sometimes reactive.
So, no diversification of economy, no government salary cuts (no idea if the 12.5 per cent cuts exist), corruption galore, no growth of sports, COVID, etc. Who’s got the time for that now … that’s just a common flu!
Ain’t we special!
Name withheld at author’s request.
Dear Editor,
Animal Defenders SXM wishes to thank the sponsors, supporters, the adoption families, the foster parents and specially the dedicated volunteers who have continuously worked so hard the whole year through. Thanks to the veterinarians for the great work and cooperation through 2021. Thank you to Steffy from Steffy’s Pet Sitting for all the lovely help, your love for animals is felt and is much appreciated.
It was a very difficult year with lots of challenges and all volunteers were always there for the animals. Some volunteers had to work extra to substitute for others because some left the island permanently and some for a longer period next to the normal vacation absence and sick notices.
The pandemic did not make it easy on us humans and that reflected directly on the animals. Many pets were abandoned and the foundation has never received so many reports and calls from pet owners who want to surrender their pets because of financial reasons. It is worrisome. Although people love their furry friends, they cannot take care of them anymore.
Although people want to spay or neuter their pet, they cannot afford the spay/neuter operation, not even with a big discount via our foundation. Too many kittens and puppies are born daily which is not necessary at all. We try to help as much as we can to prevent all these unwanted births.
We encountered many dumped dogs who got lost, injured by traffic, bitten by other dogs, sick or too hungry, skinny and weak to fend for themselves.
We cannot remember having so many calls and sad cases of animal neglect and abuse. Not a nice recollection to end the year. But this year also brought us nice memories of the lovely volunteers who continued to work and love the helpless animals.
This year was very difficult to choose a volunteer of the year because this year we all did the extra mile for the animals. Thanks to Alex who found a lovely handyman Orlando to make feeding stations for the strays. Thanks to Paul who had a school project and chose to fix up the enclosure for Joanna. You all did an amazing job. Thanks to Vivian, Annet, Natalia, Evi and Alma who brought strays to the vet and back. Thanks to Sherwin and Dorien for helping with the pet food collections. Thanks to the volunteers who left the island and thanks for the new volunteers. There are many more volunteers to thank. Thanks to all the volunteers for feeding and being ready to jump in for help when and where needed.
But one volunteer needs special mentioning: Shobha Lall jumps out because of all the extra work she did next to her normal feeding rounds. When others were sick or on vacation Shobha was there to help. She brought pets to the vet to be sterilized. She also created solutions for 2 abandoned dogs in a deplorable state.
At one location we were feeding 3 dogs with a group of volunteers. An old dog who was not able to walk because of the arthritis, he needs daily medication but we could hardly find him hiding in the bushes next to a busy road. The other dog, his longtime friend, she protected him from a neighborhood bully, she recently died of old age and tick fever plus there was a younger dog who usually gave us hints where the older dog was hiding but she herself was not always there and she was scared of the bully.
The older dog missed out days of his medication if he was not to be found so the arthritis got worse by the day. We could not leave food plus treatment behind because the bully would eat it all. Shobha came with a great solution and her husband approved to move the older dog to the garden of his company where the dog now lives in an enclosed area. He cannot escape and now he gets his food, medicine plus tender loving care daily from Shobha and her husband.
He now looks much better and he walks again but he was all alone. His friend the younger female dog who took care of him was left on her own and started wandering off. But Shobha and her husband took her to the same enclosure and the two friends are now happy to be reunited and well taken care of. No more worries of traffic or other dogs bulling them. The young female likes car rides and she is allowed to go along in a big truck sometimes; it is an awesome sight to see her on the passenger seat with a big grateful smile on her face.
Shobha makes many more dogs happy in the area next to her own 4 dogs. She does it with a nice smile, a sweet voice and a soft touch. Thank you Shobha for all that you do and for touching all those animals’ hearts. You touch our hearts as well, plus you are a great example.
Knowing that there are many more people helping out the animals we hope that many more others will join in this higher cause for the animals.
Wishing everybody a Happy Healthy New Year with lots of love and laughter, hugs from the animals.
The Board of Animal Defenders SXM
Cheers to Shobha. She was chosen as Animal Defender of 2021
Thanks for no fireworks or for using silent fireworks, nice and peaceful without the bangs.
Dear Editor,
Regardless of what the media in general and the politicians think, people aren’t stupid. And for the record, I am not just talking about the media and politicians here, I am talking about the media and politicians globally.
The debate rages on every day whether to get vaccinated or not. The pro vax side will tell you it’s the only way to save the world and to trust big pharma when they tell you it works and it’s safe. Sure, normally it takes years to develop and test a vax and true, we did this one in about 3 weeks, but you can believe us when we tell you it’s safe and it works. The anti-vax people will tell you there isn’t a shred of genuine credible scientific evidence that says the vax will stop anything and besides, what about all the people it’s killing? And that’s not counting the wack jobs that will tell you that the vax is strictly a way for government to establish mind control, genetic mutation and track you everywhere you go. So, who do you believe and why do you believe it ?
Do the media help you ? No. they merely repeat whatever good story that will get them some attention, ratings and circulation numbers. Some PhD scientist says that the vax will prevent every virus known to man and grow your hair back as well? The New York Times and CNN are happy to give it front page coverage. Some other PhD scientist says that your heart will explode in your chest within 30 minutes of getting the vax and that if it doesn’t then you will grow a third eye in the middle of your forehead anyway and the Times and CNN are happy to give it front page coverage as well.
The government scientist guy who is supposed to have all the definitive answers says on Monday that everybody on earth has to go into quarantine for two years and the media sell that as the ultimate truth, but then 24 hours later the same guy says, “Well, a 24-hour stay-at-home self-isolation is just as good unless you have to go out for like coffee or a fundraiser or something.” The Washington Post parrots that as the new ultimate truth. This is the supposed noted scientist who is in charge of all U.S. policy and changes his mind literally every day about what he thinks will work. Most days he can’t even remember what he said the day before.
The U.S. military says, “We vax everybody so we are ready!” and three days later one of their fully-vaxed ships is down and can’t sail because they have a comprehensive outbreak on board.
The U.S. government says on one day that the nation is has millions of cases in hospital and that the system is in chaos and the next day the President’s press secretary and the New York Times say that there is no one in hospital at all. That, in fact, overnight, everybody got better and went home. That’s an exaggeration, of course, but not far from the complete blithering nonsense that comes out of the White House these days.
Now for a bit of reality. Government says, “Get the vax and then wait five or six weeks (or whatever it was) to get the next one. We know this is safe.” But now, “That that didn’t exactly work out,” they say, “Oh wait, three weeks is really okay, and remember when we told you that two shots would do it? Well, there is this new booster thing and what we really meant was that it was going to be two shots unless someone somewhere told us that you needed more.”
And government and the media are absolutely mystified why people are skeptical about this whole vax thing.
Well, here is the news flash for you and it is mind-numbingly simple. Nobody believes a thing you say anymore. You have been so comprehensively wrong so many times and you have changed your mind and the rules so many times with no results that you simply have no credibility on the matter any longer.
The mask thing is complete nonsense. Everybody on earth knows it. It is probably the only thing that the scientists actually agree on.
You pretend that a few hand-washing machines at the entrance of buildings are doing something, yet a casual observer anywhere sees personal and intimate interaction 10,000 times a day.
The notion that “Anything is better than nothing” is nonsense on its face. Viruses spread exponentially. All you need is one infected person to miss any single hand-washing machine and in 24 hours he has passed that infection exponentially to thousands. You impose curfews and social distancing standards that are universally ignored because, simply, people don’t believe you and you have no track record of being right about anything or that they work.
Another news flash for you. People live in the real world. They don’t live in labs and test tubes and in theses written by theoretical scientists working with statistical studies. Maybe in a lab somewhere if you isolate your 10 rats from the other 10 nothing gets transmitted but in the real world with about 8 billion people you can just forget about that. They tried total isolation in Australia and it failed, and it failed everywhere else where it was tried.
The one shining example of what may actually work is Florida. They dropped virtually all the restrictions and nonsense and ended up with the lowest infection and death rates in the U.S. Maybe it’s time to do the same here.
In the meantime, my advice to the media , this newspaper included, is maybe try treating the info that gets fed to you with a healthy dose of skepticism for a change. When someone in authority changes the data 180 degrees from one day to the next, maybe just ask them why what was true yesterday isn’t true today anymore. If you want people to start believing you again, you will have to earn that trust back.
Now, for those of you wondering, I am vaccinated and boosted. Not because I believe or have any confidence in the propaganda but because it is a simple matter of expedience. I have to get on airplanes periodically and I don’t want to sit there and argue philosophy at some check-in counter. I want to show the card and move on. Will the vax kill me? Maybe, maybe not. And for sure there is no one I trust to ask that might actually have an answer I believe. If anything, it will be the whole hypocrisy of this situation that will likely see me dead.
Steven Johnson
