With air travel soon to resume, the Ministry of Tourism, Information and Broadcasting, Culture and Creative Industries in collaboration with the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority (SLTA), NATMED, and the Ministry of Health made a donation of personal protective equipment to tourism transport operators.

The equipment includes 20,000 gloves, 1020 cloth masks and 840 hand sanitizers, some of which are locally made in-keeping with the ongoing “Love Saint Lucia” buy local campaign.

The overall aim is to mitigate any possible spread of COVID-19 into communities.

Donalyn Vittet, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism, Information and Broadcasting, Culture and Creative Industries, has been working with various stakeholders to ensure all precautionary measures are being taken.

“In preparation for the resumption of tourism and travel coming in the next week, we are here to present a gift. We consider it also as an investment as a measure of getting the taxi sector prepared for the road ahead. One of the things we have to ensure, is that we adhere to all of the protocols as designated by the Ministry of Health, so this [donation] plays a fundamental part in the preparations.”

Minister for Tourism, Information and Broadcasting, Culture and Creative Industries, Hon. Dominic Fedee, explained the importance of protective measures.

“We have to prepare because the situation is fraught with uncertainty. We want to ensure that the taxi drivers are ready, and that there are standards in place.”

Matthew Hutchinson, Vice President of the Southern Taxi Association expressed gratitude for the PPE donation.

“We have to give credit to the government and the Ministry of Health for the way COVID-19 has been handled in Saint Lucia, and the Ministry of Tourism for keeping us engaged and collaborating with us in this effort. Considering the fact that all taxi drivers are in waiting, our members are ready [to get back to work]. We know that there will be risks, but life must go on.”

The handing over ceremony took place on Monday, July 6.