Allen Chastanet, St. Lucia’s prime minister, thought he was lucky—his island was deemed a “non-outbreak” zone when the Zika virus swept through the Caribbean in 2016, and it was similarly spared from the hurricanes that pummeled its neighbors in 2017. But then came Covid-19.
“It’s had a devastating effect on our economy and the livelihood of our citizens,” Chastanet says. Indeed, 65% of the island’s gross domestic product is garnered through tourism, and the island saw a dramatic 89% drop in arrivals from March to July. That has reduced the government’s total revenue by almost 60% so far this year, and attempts to curb the island’s already high 25% unemployment rate have spiraled in the opposite direction.
