The Big Issues

Public and private resources across the Caribbean have been stretched to respond to the pandemic. Homes have less income to work with. Governments are operating on less. International partners have less to offer in the event of an emergency. In this episode, we ask: How has the pandemic affected our ability to respond to natural disasters? And how can each of us, nonetheless, remain prepared?

The host is Kieron Murdoch. The guests are:

This programme first aired on NewsCo Observer Radio 91.1 FM on September 26th, 2021. Get the latest news from Antigua and Barbuda at the Antigua Observer online.

Labour unions in Antigua and Barbuda object to mandatory vaccination for state employees. Two say that will challenge it in court with one of those, the public service union, saying it's seeking an injunction. Separately, another union, the teachers union, gave an ultimatum of industrial action unless the mandate was lifted. But the government is resolved to hire as many temporary workers as need be, to fill positions left by those who choose to stay unvaccinated, and therefore cannot come to work.

What's more, the Prime Minister Gaston Browne, speaking in Parliament, has attacked the second union that threatened court action, the Antigua Trades & Labour Union (AT&LU), as an organisation in need of "new leadership", and he demanded, in a sense, that its executive be removed, though the extent of his labour party's influence over that union is unclear. They are longtime affiliates. 

In this episode, our guests react to the unions' stance, which they say is not much of a surprise, though they disagree on whether it is the right stance. We ask: With Covid-19 causing so many more deaths, more hospitalisation, and so much economic harm, is fighting the vaccine mandate really in the best interest of workers?

The host is Kieron Murdoch. The guests are:

This programme first aired on NewsCo Observer Radio 91.1 FM on September 26th, 2021. Get the latest news from Antigua and Barbuda at the Antigua Observer online.

In the Bahamas, there’s been a change of government. Former Prime Minister Hubert Minnis and the party he leads, the Free National Movement (FNM), lost office to the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP). PLP leader Phillip "Brave" Davis has since been sworn in as the 5th Prime Minister of The Bahamas.

The general election was on Thursday, September 16th, 2021. What’s interesting about the Bahamas is that for 24 years now, no prime minister has won a second term. They go in and out, and in, and out. Some analysts point to the COVID-19 pandemic and the unemployment it has created, as the cause of the FNM's recent defeat.

But our guests tell us the reasons are more complex. We asked them: Why did Bahamians choose a new government? And what are the new administration’s goals?

The host is Kieron Murdoch. The guests are:

This programme first aired on NewsCo Observer Radio 91.1 FM on September 19th, 2021. Get the latest news from Antigua and Barbuda at the Antigua Observer online.

The messenger is often more important than the message. When the doctor on this panel said that, it stuck. And it stands to reason. We all have trusted messengers. Those of us with a mistrust of modern medicine are inclined to sideline the advice of medical doctors and medical scientists. Those of us who feel that governments are constantly up to no good are inclined to sideline advice from public officials. If we believe that the international press is totally agenda driven, we will ignore the news. And if we are preoccupied with incidents of malpractice in pharmacy and medicine, it stands to reason that we won't give an ear to drug companies either.

So what's to be done? Covid-19 misinformation and vaccine misinformation are real. They're as real as they are perhaps unreal. They are real because there is in fact a torrent of false information and narratives constantly evolving and in circulation. They are unreal in the figurative sense, because it can at times be hard to believe just how massive the sea of falsehoods has become. The effect of swimming in that sea is suspicion, confusion, and hesitancy. So it seems we need to get the right messengers - trusted personalities and traditional leaders in our communities - to carry the factual information to those who need to hear it.

So far, too many have been hearing false information from the wrong messengers amidst this "infodemic" as some call it. Think back to 2019 and early 2020. It's not a virus some said. It's the 5G cell towers they said. Well, it’s been 18 months since March 2020. What all do you remember hearing about Covid-19 or vaccines since then, that you now have probably forgotten, or consider to be false? Probably quite a lot. The latest current in the misinformation sea is bamboozling unsuspecting audiences with complex, unintelligible, scientific jargon about biomolecular structures that the average person knows nothing about, like "spike proteins". 

In this episode we ask: How do you tell fact from opinion, and truth from lies, amidst a sea of information and misinformation?

The host is Kieron Murdoch. The guests are:

This programme first aired on NewsCo Observer Radio 91.1 FM on September 19th, 2021. Get the latest news from Antigua and Barbuda at the Antigua Observer online.

Get vaccinated or stay home. Negative Covid-19 tests will no longer be accepted. That is the new stance of the government of Antigua and Barbuda for its employees. The mandate is supposed to affect government workers, statutory corporation employees, and reportedly even companies in which the state owns majority stake and there's every indication that  exceptions won't be made. 

It comes as Antigua and Barbuda experiences and unprecedented rise in infection numbers. The last update two days ago on Friday, September 17th, was 915 confirmed active cases. The main hospital is reportedly at capacity. Despite the seriousness of the situation, there are many who are still unconvinced that they should get vaccinated, and those who are staunchly opposed to it.

In this discussion we are questioning the lawfulness and the public health necessity of the government’s latest move, to mandate vaccination or effective loss of employment. We ask: Are vaccine mandates lawful? And are they necessary given the rapid rise in infections amidst stubborn vaccine hesitancy?

The host is Kieron Murdoch. The guests are:

This programme first aired on NewsCo Observer Radio 91.1 FM on September 19th, 2021. Get the latest news from Antigua and Barbuda at the Antigua Observer online.

The management of the Royalton Hotel in Antigua is being roundly criticized after videos circulated of a recent pool party on its premises, reportedly marking Labour Day. In this episode we ask: What, if anything, was wrong with what we saw happening at the hotel, and should anyone be made accountable?

There were dozens and dozens of people visible in the videos shared, and the event reportedly went on for more than a day. People could be seen crowding closely together, filling up a pool, and dancing to music. There appeared to be no distancing, no masks, and no observance of the lawful restriction on numbers. And it appears to have been an openly promoted event. It has upset many residents who feel that what they saw was reckless, and that there is lax enforcement of Covid rules at hotels and amongst visitors. On this programme back in February, we discussed a controversy at the Hodges Bay Resort over a Valentine’s Day party where Covid rules were not observed. 

As for the Royalton controversy; it’s worth mentioning that around mid-August, it was revealed that there had been 31 Covid-19 positive cases at the very same hotel after 500 employees were tested. So to see the hotel hosting a maskless, no distancing, crowded party less than a month later, was startling. Bar owners and their patrons have had premises raided and have been arrested for similar offenses. But the police have not made any statements about the Royalton party, though the Information Minister Medford Nicholas says the Cabinet feels it's a matter for law enforcement and the director of public prosecutions (DPP). Wait. Were the police waiting on the Cabinet to decide if it was for them to address? 

The controversial party has raised the issue of continued misconceptions over what vaccinated people are, and are not advised to do. While the Royalton Hotel itself has not made a statement up to this point, an Antigua Newsroom article notes that one supposed party attendee used Facebook to defend the event on the grounds that attendees were all vaccinated. Even if this were the case, vaccinated persons are not being advised by local public health authorities that crowding, going maskless, and not distancing amongst each other is allowable. In fact, public health officials in Antigua and Barbuda have been discussing more and more, that due to the Delta variant's higher incidence of symptomatic breakthrough infections, more fully vaccinated people will become carriers and spreaders of the virus than with past strains, though they remain strongly protected against hospitalisation. 

The host is Kieron Murdoch. The guests are:

This programme first aired on NewsCo Observer Radio 91.1 FM on September 12th, 2021. Get the latest news from Antigua and Barbuda at the Antigua Observer online.

In this episode we discuss suicide prevention and mental health. In Antigua and Barbuda, sadly, two suspected suicides were recently reported. But the mental health and counselling professionals we speak to in this segment want those listening to know that if you are having suicidal thoughts, you can get the professional assistance you need to process and work through that space and to feel better. Seeking help is not easy sometimes, but it is worth it. 

Our mental health is affected by a complex set of factors that the best of us struggle to understand, and that is why seeking help when we don't feel right is absolutely necessary. Don't fight alone and don't feel ashamed. Suicide leaves your loved ones devastated. It's often done impulsively in the face of something that only seemed like a crisis at the time, but which was not worth ending one's life over. It denies you the very real and very good chance of beginning to feel better with help. If you or anyone you know in Antigua and Barbuda is experiencing suicidal thoughts, they can contact the Family and Social Services Division for help at 562-5669.

Our guests emphasize for those listening, that taking one's life is never the answer. They're asking everyone to look out for their friends and loved ones who can be seen showing the warning signs talked about in this episode. We are found wanting as a society in how we respond to each other's struggles. We brand people with hurtful names and labels, and we react to suicide attempts, and break-downs with gossip and anger instead of kindness and empathy. We can do better, and we must. Perhaps worst, we tend to ignore or trivialize people's pain. It's sometimes a lot to take on. We know. That's why professional help is so important for the person in trouble, and even for loved ones trying to help.

The host is Kieron Murdoch. The guests are:

This programme first aired on NewsCo Observer Radio 91.1 FM on September 12th, 2021. Get the latest news from Antigua and Barbuda at the Antigua Observer online.

By September 11th there were 650 active cases of Covid-19 and 36 people were hospitalised. Deaths have been increasing sharply since August. Amidst the new wave, frontline personnel - doctors, nurses, hospital staff, ambulance technicians, health inspectors, contact tracers, and police officers, among others - are exhausted. Fatigue, anxiety, and stress have become their norm.

You could hear that stress in the voice of a female hospital worker whose voice note has been circulating wildly in recent days. She lashed out saying members of the public "just do not get it!" and were "doing ignorance" rather than abiding by good sense when it came to Covid safety. Observer’s Shermaine Bique spoke with four nurses anonymously. They admitted to  grappling everyday with anxiety and overwork, with one saying she was ready to quit the profession. 

Another reported that quite a few are no longer showing up for work. One described the hospital as the "Gaza Strip", reporting that Covid patients are scattered around the facility because of space limitations. Home and family life for many has become a ghost of what it used to be for these workers. In this episode, we ask: How is occupational burnout impacting frontline workers, and are there any real solutions?

The host is Kieron Murdoch. The guests are:

This programme first aired on NewsCo Observer Radio 91.1 FM on September 12th, 2021. Get the latest news from Antigua and Barbuda at the Antigua Observer online.

We've had to downsize, restrict, or cancel carnivals across the Caribbean since the onset of Covid-19. That's no surprise. But can we adapt? And is there a chance of returning to what once was? Will mass vaccination give us that chance? And in the interim, what? Virtual events? Smaller mas? Televised competitions only? Highly policed, distanced celebrations? 

Next month, the Miami Carnival, which was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, is set to go ahead with thousands of participants. A negative Covid-19 test is required to attend the big event. Temperature checks and masks are reportedly to be required. It's not clear if vaccination restrictions will be in place. The event is Caribbean themed and attracts many from the regionally diaspora. The last time it was held in-person was in 2019. Many will be watch closely.

You may ask: What if regional events went on with only vaccinated participants? That might not help stop Covid-19 transmission and hospitalisation as much as we think. We now know that because of new variants of Covid-19 like the Delta strain, symptomatic breakthrough infections amongst the fully vaccinated are more likely, meaning that some vaccinated people will more often become carriers and spreaders of the virus and can spread it to others. Being vaccinated is still the best protected against hospitalisation.

So there's the risk that carnival events, if held traditionally, and even if attended only by vaccinated people, would increase the rate of transmission of Covid-19 in society through symptomatic breakthrough infections, which are more likely with Delta. With a large unvaccinated population in each island, any rapid increase in the rate of Covid-19 transmission would begin to put people (mostly unvaccinated people) in the hospital. Then comes the curfews, the restrictions on movement, the ban on indoor dining, and so on. You know how it goes. 

And yet, the social and economic reasons for carnivals to go on are many. Here in Antigua and Barbuda, and in the Caribbean region, the loss of work for the many artists, artistes, artisans, and the myriad of others that benefited economically from the sector has been overwhelming. In this episode, we ask guests from Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago, about the future of their carnivals in the Covid-19 era. Will it ever be the same again?

The host is Kieron Murdoch. The guests are: 

This programme first aired on NewsCo Observer Radio 91.1 FM on September 5th, 2021. Get the latest news from Antigua and Barbuda at the Antigua Observer online.

Four people reflect on their time at university, how it changed them, why they chose their fields, and where they see themselves in the future. We asked them: What do you come away with after higher education? And how do you go forward? For many of us, going to school is not only about gaining qualifications or enhancing employability. It can be a chance to mature, to establish social and political interests, to discover passions, to learn life skills, and to build lasting relationships. As people from Antigua and Barbuda, and the Caribbean ready themselves for new programmes of study, or contemplate their next move having graduated, we discuss the take-aways of higher education and the prospects for people leaving school.

The host is Kieron Murdoch. The guests are:

This programme first aired on NewsCo Observer Radio 91.1 FM on September 5th, 2021. Get the latest news from Antigua and Barbuda at the Antigua Observer online.