New Book ‘Island Fever’ On Covid Pandemic
Island Fever — a new book on Bermuda’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic — has been released.
A spokesperson said, “Island Fever is the story of Bermuda’s fight against the Covid-19 global pandemic. The once in a century pandemic, became a once in a century economic recession. Drawing on publicly available information, media reports, Government records, scientific journals and reports, research and interviews, the book describes the harrowing and stressful fight against the spread of the virus.
“The science and the epidemiology of Covid-19, the public policy objectives of a lockdown and curfew, the desperate global fight for Personal Protective Equipment [PPE] and testing supplies and the dire modelling projections of potential deaths, defined the early fight. No-one could claim to have been ready for this low probability, high consequence event.
“Island Fever also tells the story of the pandemic’s immense toll on the people, society, systems and the economy. This was the most disruptive event to affect Bermuda in arguably, almost one hundred years. Government revenue declined by tens of millions of dollars; tourism expenditure fell by hundreds of millions; the national debt ceiling rose to a record high of $3.6 billion.
“Ordinary people such as hotel and restaurant workers, construction workers, landscapers, trades-people, retail workers, teachers, parents, seniors and business-owners faced extra-ordinary choices. More than 10,000 people applied for unemployment insurance. Lives were changed, in sometimes devastating and irreversible ways. Children, adults and families were affected in often complex, harrowing and devastating ways.
“Having lost almost everything, for many, the search for food became the number one priority. The tourism industry evaporated from a record high in 2019 to a record low in 2020. Thousands of students faced massive disruption to their education over three academic years. More than 165 were reported as dead with Covid as we raced past the Spanish Flu death toll numbers. Businesses closed – never to open again. Bermuda would never be the same.
“The historical perspective is explored. Bermuda faced pandemics before, such as the Yellow Fever of the 1800’s, the Spanish Flu of 1918-1919 and the HIV/AIDS scourge from the 1980’s resulting in the deaths of thousands over the centuries. Island Fever guides the reader through the major policy decisions faced by political leaders and those in the security, hospital and medical care services. The book examines the high impact decisions regarding public health, the economy and the choices made by political, business and community leaders. Some decisions were right; some were wrong. Each one had consequences. Scandals, political fallout – two Cabinet Ministers lost their jobs; two hurricanes and an unprecedented election win were thrown into the mix.
“Island Fever is also the story of how Bermuda leveraged its knowledge, skills and people and produced heroes that limited the deaths and mitigated its economic and societal impact from a virus which wreaked havoc in other countries. There was resilience and hope and a new economic paradigm was developed for the Island’s future.”
Bermuda aimed to beat the odds and chart a new path. This once in a century event was written as it happened. When asked about the book, Jonathan replied: “This was a complex under-taking, but early in 2020 I realised this was a unique opportunity to write about a life-changing event as it happened.”
A spokesperson added, “Island Fever is the book that the Chinese Government refused to have printed in Hong Kong unless it was edited to remove references to Wuhan – the reported epicentre of Covid-19 and of Taiwan, which China does not recognize as a country. The book was printed in Malaysia instead.
“Just released, there’s a book signing at the Bookmart at Brown & Co. on Saturday, December 20th between 11AM – 2PM. The book is available locally at the Bookmart and at the Bermuda Book Store on Queen St.”
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