PM: Carnival events up to NCC, tourism, culture ministries

THE government will make no further official announcements on this year’s Carnival activities, the Prime Minister has said, but if they do take place, they must be staged in accordance with the current health protocols.

Pointe-a-Pierre MP David Lee posed the question to Dr Rowley during Wednesday’s sitting of Parliament, asking if he will provide the House with a definitive date for a decision to be made on Carnival 2022 to allow operators, promoters, and other stakeholders to prepare.

He replied, “I indicated (last Saturday) that there are public health protocols (being) enforced that will remain enforced across Carnival, and any Carnival-like activity will be governed by those protocols.

“And I indicated, Madam Speaker, that being so, there will be some Carnival activity, which is to be agreed upon by the Carnival fraternity, largely through the guidance of the NCC (National Carnival Commission), the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Culture, and whatever they come up with, Madam Speaker, for the Carnival season of 2022, must be done within the context of the existing health protocols.

“So there is no further announcement to be made. Those are the conditions for Carnival-like activity.”

While Carnival will be scaled down from typical celebrations, Rowley noted that "there are certain Carnival activities that should not be permitted, simply because they are obviously at variance with the requirements of the pandemic response of 2022.”