The Government of Grenada says while its decision to\u00a0cancel the 2020 Carnival celebrations might be an unpopular one, it is a wise choice\u00a0intended to protect public health and safety in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister, Dr. the Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell, who tabled the COVID-19 Cancellation of\u00a0Carnival August Celebrations Bill 2020, at a meeting of the House of Representatives on\u00a0Wednesday, said Government must act in the best interest of public health.<\/p>\n
In 2019, 13,327 visitors arrived in Grenada during the Carnival period. The figure\u00a0represented an increase of almost 1,000 visitors over 2018 statistics. Further, many of\u00a0these visitors had already booked tickets to return for the 2020 celebrations.<\/p>\n
Dr. Mitchell said the financially prudent decision would be to stage the festival, especially\u00a0in light of the significant drop in revenue as a result of three months of no productivity due\u00a0to the lockdown. However, as a responsible government, they must protect the gains they\u00a0have made so far. \u201cWhat would the revenue mean to government, when the people the\u00a0government is supposed to protect get infected, and some even go through serious illness\u00a0that can affect them for life or even cause their death?\u201d<\/p>\n
Throwing her full support behind the bill, Tourism Minister, Hon. Clarice Modeste Curwen\u00a0said while carnival has made Grenada a competitive destination, we cannot throw away\u00a0the gains made through collective sacrifice of the past few months. \u201cAs much as we like\u00a0carnival, and as much as it does for the economy, I beg everyone, let us comply, and let\u00a0us leave the jab for a while. Next year will be bigger and better for us, but we have to\u00a0make the sacrifice now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Minister for Health, Hon. Nickolas Steele said tabling the bill is not the desire of a cruel,\u00a0authoritarian government, nor is it a political policy. \u201cWe are a responsible government,\u00a0and as such, we are not prepared to play Russian roulette with the lives of our citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister had earlier made reference to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)\u00a0Control Bill 2020, which was withdrawn from Wednesday\u2019s agenda after public concern\u00a0over some aspects of that bill. He affirmed Government\u2019s intention to undertake public\u00a0consultation. \u201cLet\u2019s work together, the government erred in not allowing for sufficient\u00a0consultation, we admit this, and like the Minister of Legal Affairs said, we will improve on\u00a0that aspect. It is our error, we accept it but assure you that there was no bad intention.\u00a0We will not want to interfere with the fundamental rights of any citizen. But let us come\u00a0together to build our country and let us unite to protect each other.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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