Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day and compared to previous years, gifts will be purchased. But most importantly, there is the likelihood that people will mingle, a rather worrying thought knowing our situation with the coronavirus, reflected in the constant uptick in infected cases since the year begun, including related deaths.
This year’s celebration of Valentine’s Day cannot be like it used to be in past years. Granted, the virus was already in existence during last year’s celebration, however, on the world stage, it was just a blip, while in Saint Lucia its presence was not yet felt.
How to get Saint Lucians to keep the minimum six feet distance away from each other, if they do not live in the same house, is going to be difficult come Valentine’s Day. There is a real possibility that today’s hours and those making up Valentine’s Day could lead to many new cases of the virus. The consuming question here is how can we mitigate against that?
We have a few suggestions that could help in keeping new cases of the coronavirus at a low or prevent any from occurring.
For instance, we could make the celebrations less lavished, meaning instead of inviting friends over for dinner, drinks – whether indoor or outdoor, just invite that one person who you share an intimate relationship with. The others, we are sure, will understand why they cannot be part of the party this time around.
Another way to keep new cases of the virus from appearing would be to keep to oneself. Now we know this could be very difficult during this time for some people, particularly lovers.
Let’s not underestimate the power of intimacy, which could cause both man and woman to throw caution to the wind. All the curfews, all the state of emergencies and all the COVID-19 protocols will not keep some people away from each other in times like these.
Saint Lucians now need to adapt to the long shadow of this pandemic even though an inoculation programme is soon to be embarked on. COVID-19 will not vanish on the arrival of the vaccines. To date there has been no flattening of the curve as more and more Saint Lucians test positive for the virus.
Too many Saint Lucians are superfluously adhering to the protocols, doing so out of fear of reprisals if caught not to be abiding by them and not out of a sense of duty to themselves and their fellowmen.
We sincerely hope that in the excitement of Valentine’s Day celebrations Saint Lucians reserve some thoughts on ways of decreasing the already mounting number of cases we have of the virus. This Valentine’s Day weekend could serve as a period of time for us to find ways to change our environment by making it harder for COVID-19 to spread.
Let us do things this Valentine’s Day that would keep us safe from the virus. It is time to get out of the usual Valentine’s Day bubble we have known for years. To those wishing to celebrate Valentine’s Day with friends, just remember that one night of togetherness could transform into a lifetime of anguish should someone you cherish gets affected from such a gathering and God forbid, passes away.
This is not far-fetched as such have been known to happen in other parts of this topsy-turvy, coronavirus ridden world.