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Opposition Leader Arden McLean has given his support to government’s ongoing efforts to suppress the spread of COVID-19.
However, he has called for more cooperation from Premier Alden McLaughlin and his administration when it comes to keeping opposition members in the loop so they can disseminate information to their constituents.
Speaking with the Cayman Compass Tuesday, McLean said as a member of the Hazard Management Executive Committee, he was appraised last week when the committee met.
Since then, he said, no other meetings have been called, but he has reached out to the premier.
“There have been no responses, so we’ll see what happens. But I can’t go out there and get politics involved in this at this stage. There will always be time for politics,” he said.
McLean said he has been receiving updates through the news briefings, like everyone else.
Premier McLaughlin addressed this at Tuesday’s briefing saying that the decisions that are being taken are either Cabinet decisions or executive decisions that are taken by the governor.
“While we can have a consultation regarding these matters, these are decisions, the making of regulations and so forth, [that are] matters for the Cabinet, so the opposition is not involved in that process,” he said.
McLean said he believes that the steps being taken by government to control COVID-19 are necessary, but he said government needs to utilise the MLAs much better during this health and economic crisis.
“We are the ones who are in the communities, who know our communities. We are the ones who know best what the community entails and, in that sense of assisting, they are not utilising us. Then we just have to do it on our own,” he said.
He said opposition MLAs are doing what they can “to try and prepare people for this and prevent them from contracting this disease”.
McLean said he and his colleagues have been distributing informational material in their constituencies and checking in with the elderly.
“I just want to encourage people to follow the information from the professionals who talk about maintaining distances, washing hands frequently to protect oneself, and stay away from large crowds because we don’t know how bad this is going to become really,” he added.
McLean said he and his colleagues are concerned about the country being almost totally shut down and people are out of work.
He said he is looking on keenly to see how government is going to assist the Caymanian people.
He urged work permit holders who have been laid off to leave as Cayman needs to preserve its supplies and resources.
“I’m hoping that that will happen and people will, if they are no longer essential staff. There’s always room for them to come back,” he said.
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