Too early to cancel Vincy Mas – PM

WHILE the annual Bequia Easter Regatta and the Union Island Easterval celebrations have been postponed, Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves said on Thursday that it is still too early to call off Vincy Mas.

Vincy Mas, the nation’s annual Carnival festival, is slated for June 26 to July 7.

“I think it’s too early to make that call,” the Prime Minister commented while adding that Trinidad and Tobago’s (T& T) carnival was only one month ago and now, the government there has ordered a complete lockdown for 14 days.

“They had a Carnival and at the time of the Carnival, COVID was in the air. Remember people were wondering whether they would have Carnival or not.

He said that three weeks after, T& T’s government has initiated a lockdown and whether he (Gonsalves) agrees with that or not, is not the issue as the authorities consider it necessary to do so for a few days.

“The point I am making, we are a good while away from that (Vincy Mas),” said Gonsalves.

However, Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley in an address to Barbadians on Monday said people planning events within the next three months that would involve more than 100 people should postpone them.

She said the Government had made a determination that all gatherings larger than 100 will be restricted once the first case of Covid-19 was recorded there.

At press time on Thursday, five persons there had tested positive, all of them imported cases.

“We do recognise that there are some large events that people are planning that will lead to an outlay in advertising, outlay in buying supplies and food and … we are advising those persons, to reschedule their events, any event within the next three months, to reschedule it until a date later in the year, or next year.

“You don’t want people to spend money, only to be told within less than 24 hours that they need to cancel,” Mottley said.

She said against that background, they have advised organizers who had planned activities for this weekend not to have them.

“We don’t want vendors to buy food, then find out that they are out of pocket, because if you have a case on Thursday, or Friday and the Government has to cancel the event suddenly, you are not out of pocket.”