April 14^th, 2020
Praise continues to roll in for Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris and his administration’s competent handling of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has resulted in a State of Emergency being declared for the period March 28^th to April 18^th to protect the health and safety of the public against the risk of human-to-human transmission. 

Prime Minister Harris has been taking to the airwaves to disseminate information and assure the public that the country’s government and health system are prepared to deal effectively with the pandemic.  To date, the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis has 12 confirmed COVID-19 cases with zero deaths.

Speaking last Saturday, April 11^th on WINN (98.9) FM’s Inside the News – during his third consecutive appearance on the popular weekend talk show – the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis said: “From where I sit, and from the knowledge I have, I think that we are fortunate as a people to have the kinds of dedicated teams that we have in the Health Emergency Operations Centre (HEOC) headed by Dr. Hazel Laws and in the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) headed by Mr. Abdias Samuel.” 

The Prime Minister added: “They have been excellent servants of the people.  Their hard work and their commitment to see this through have been an inspiration to me as the Prime Minister and have motivated me to spend even more time and to pay more close attention to ensure that the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis – having led the way so far – continues its excellent planning, which we had put in place.” 

Prime Minister Harris noted that, “As small as we are, we kept the pandemic from our shores for the longest while; we were the last among the independent states to have been visited by the virus.” 

The Prime Minister further stated that, “Some people do not see and could never see all the things that are being done, but in a careful and methodological way our health planners and our front-line people had been preparing for it.  If the worst-case scenario were to emerge, St. Kitts and Nevis’ health system is at the best place that it can be to deal with the issues of the pandemic.”

St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister also said the country “is in the strongest position of readiness of any of the countries in the Caribbean, and this is a remarkable achievement for our very small country.” 

Shortly after making his opening statement on Inside the News on Saturday, and all the way through the weekend, Prime Minister Harris was inundated with messages via WhatsApp.  They came from a wide cross-section of citizens and residents, including retired and senior public officials and longstanding business leaders.

“Happy Easter PM.  Thank you for your leadership during this unprecedented challenging time.  Stay safe,” one message said.  Another message said: “St. Kitts Nevis has the best disaster management team.  You guys are amazing.  Keep up the good work Dr. Harris.  May God continue to guide you.”

Yet another message, which was sent by a giant of industry, who long ago immigrated to the Federation and resides in St. Kitts, said: “Good afternoon Sir.  Very inspiring speech on the future of St. Kitts.  God Bless.  I can see the passion for St. Kitts and the people of St. Kitts coming through.”