Scaling-up Activities to Mitigate Against the Spread of the COVID-19 Virus: Appreciating the Role of Local Government Authorities in the Caribbean

Abstract

In January 2020, several governments in the English-speaking Caribbean not only started sensitizing their populations about the novel coronavirus but triggered various public health provisions that would allow the state to better manage the disease once it arrives within the respective countries. With the confirmation of the first cases, some national governmental systems were primed to act. Central governments across the region announced various policies and strategies, such as the closing of borders and schools as well as lockdowns as was necessary to mitigate the spread of the virus. But whilst attention was focused on what the central government was doing, very little attention was paid to local government activities that supported the central government’s policies. Local governments scaled-up the policies as enunciated by the central government, to ensure a wider geographical reach as well as a more intensive implementation process. Scaling-up also allowed for some expansion beyond the national policies to effect a program to mitigate the spread of the virus. Using examples from across the region, the article appraises the role of local governments in the quest to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic.