State of emergency in St Kitts and Nevis to be extended

The State of Emergency (SOE) that was declared in St. Kitts and Nevis on June 15 to help effectively manage the COVID-19 pandemic in the Federation to be extended until December 31, 2021, by a Resolution of Parliament.

This was announced by Prime Minister, Dr.Timothy Harris, during an Emergency Sitting of the National Assembly on Monday, June 28, 2021.

Dr. Harris presented the Resolution of the National Assembly made under section 19(3) of Saint Christopher and Nevis 1983 Constitution Order.

“…AND WHEREAS the COVID-19 virus continues to pose a significant threat of a natural calamity on the scale of a public health emergency to the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis and it is, therefore, necessary to extend the State of Emergency up to the 31^st day of December 2021,” Prime Minister Harris stated. “NOW THEREFORE be it hereby resolved by this National Assembly that it is necessary to extend the State of Emergency up to the 31^st day of December 2021, to take effect from the 7^th day of July 2021, to combat the threat of the COVID-19 virus to the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis.”

Upon successful passage of the Resolution, the general public will be able to access the document via St. Kitts and Nevis Information Service (SKNIS) website at sknis.kn or via the department’s Facebook page.

Dr. Harris noted that the State of Emergency at this time is vital to help stop the community spread of the second wave of COVID-19.

“It is clear Mr. Speaker that the State of Emergency is required to contain the community spread of COVID-19 in St. Kitts and Nevis and to prevent the overwhelming of our health system and, obviously then by extension save lives,” said Dr. Harris.

Prime Minister Harris referenced other democratic countries in CARICOM that sought Parliamentary approval to extend the State of Emergency in their jurisdictions. For example, Antigua and Barbuda imposed a State of Emergency on March 31, 2021, and this will now expire on September 30, 2021. Since March 18 of this year, The Bahamas declared a State of Emergency which was extended to August 12, 2021.

Barbados imposed a State of Emergency on March 01, which will expire on June 30, 2021; Saint Lucia from March 23 to October 16, 2021, while Grenada’s State of Emergency was imposed from March 30 to July 14, 2021. In the case of Grenada, Parliament extended the State of Emergency to November 01, 2021.

(St Kitts and Nevis Information Service)