THE EDITOR: I am paying close attention to the current impassioned debate regarding the impact of the vigils on the current covid19 spike, as asserted by the Prime Minister. In seeking to examine this myself, from an almost scientific perspective, I have had to check my emotions at the front door, as this is a subject which stirs passions.

However, having looked at the data and evidence, I am convinced that there is a link between the hundreds of vigils and demonstrations which took place over a two-month period and the spike in covid19 cases.

Firstly, contrary to a media house's analysis that I saw done by its weather team, the vigil and demonstration activity didn't end on February 12, by which point over 100 events would have been held. Mass gatherings continued for another month to March 12 and public activity, via a petition, continued to the end of March, when the Commissioner of Police indicated he would no longer give permission for such activities, due to a spike in the covid19 cases.

These are the facts which any analysis must take into account.

I also note the counter argument to the vigil theory - that Easter was the event which caused the spike. However, by Easter weekend, April 2-5, cases had already spiked from single digits in February to numbers approaching 50 cases per day, accounting for an almost 900 per cent increase over a six-week period. This is after nightly gatherings of hundreds during most of this time.

As the Ministry of Health's head epidemiologist rightfully asserted a few days ago, this spike was occurring long before Easter and the dropping of our guard, despite the continued pleas to not do so, caused it to snowball out of control.

I myself was moved by the principle of protecting women's rights and sympathised but I did have silent concerns over the fact that hundreds were gathering across the country during a pandemic. It is clear, from the irrefutable evidence, that cases spiked during this vigil activity period of two months. By Easter, cases had snowballed to almost 50 per day and the stage was set for the massive increases we have seen since.

Emotions aside, when a proper analysis is done there exists sufficient data and evidence to support the Prime Minister's claim that the spike is connected to vigil activity. In accepting that, we do not diminish the fact that women need to be protected or deny the essence of what moved people. I believe both issues need to be separated and we need to look at the facts in this manner. By understanding this, we can learn the lessons now and be better able to act more responsibly in the future.

V LALLA

Chaguanas