AG: Vaccines coming, so look out for mother of all Carnivals

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi says there is a “serious vaccine train headed to TT.
“We will come out of this pandemic,” he declared.

He said the government is co-ordinating and planning for the country post-covid19, and artistes should be looking forward to the future.

“Next Carnival is going to be the mother of all Carnivals. Good days are ahead of us, and I’m very hopeful about it.”

Al-Rawi said talk of not having the money to afford vaccines was untrue, and the government has been in talks with Covax, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, AstraZeneca and more to ensure vaccines were acquired.

“We are in every zone across every field possible.

“We will be coming out of this. We just have to hold on a bit longer.”

Al-Rawi was speaking during a second instalment of Faris in the Space on Twitter on Wednesday. It featured speakers from the music industry including soca artiste Sekon Sta and producer Travis World.

Soca artistes will be given priority to travel abroad for international carnival events, the AG said.

He praised Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts Randall Mitchell for pushing for artistes to be prioritised for vaccines in Cabinet on Wednesday in preparation for their being able to travel.

“Your minister has been big on the scene,” he said. “We have a very enterprising (and) ambitious Minister of Tourism…We are trying to make sure the vaccine train hits TT fast so we have the transporting of people back and forth.”

He said Mitchell was given the green light to prioritise artistes for travel in Cabinet on Wednesday. Major international carnival events have already begun, he said.
“Artistes of this country bring brand recognition for the country,” said Al-Rawi. “All the dials are being pushed to the max as we plan the exit from covid19.”

He warned that while there may be good news, the public still needs to be vigilant.

“We still have to hold on. We have to make sure to use the state of emergency to crush the pandemic back to where we were. Even though we got great news, let’s just make sure we hold on a little bit longer.”