Fast food restaurants in Carnival: A serious public health concern?

Editor: Is it a coincidence that for the last two days of Vincy Carnival, the bathrooms of major food chains in Kingstown become inoperable? For many years, I’ve noticed that these fast food chains continue to serve the public with food and drink, yet customers have no means by which to relieve or clean themselves before or after a meal. Is it not a public health violation for this to occur? In these modern times, when we are faced with so many threats to health, why is this practice being allowed to continue?{{more}}

If the sole intent of these business operators is to protect their properties from masqueraders, why not, on the other hand, make it a part of their corporate responsibility to sponsor one or two porto potties? Or to sponsor public washroom facilities in the capital to ensure that they’re adequately equipped and staffed to remain sanitary for use? What sense does it make, for instance, for there to be public facilities where the attendant perceives his/her major task to be the distribution of toilet paper to their users?

We keep advocating for a bigger better Carnival: how should persons feel when, as paying patrons, they have no access to proper washroom facilities? How would these restaurants feel if persons were to boycott their services for these two days and they had no customers? I would urge these operators to be more accommodating to Vincentians who patronize their businesses for the other 365 days of the year and visitors to our shores. If a minimal fee needs to be collected from non-customers to aid in any repairs, then let it be so. I would hope that the Public Health Department looks into this, because by no means should this practice be allowed any further, for these businesses to render their bathrooms out of order.

Concerned