Trinidad Bans Christmas Parties

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One Caribbean Nation.


PM bans holiday parties

Trinidad Prime Minister Keith Rowley

SCARBOROUGH – The Trinidad and Tobago government has announced a total ban on Christmas parties within the public sector, while urging the private sector to do the same.

It has also announcing a TT$30 million (BDS$10 million) initiative aimed at assisting people who have lost their jobs, or have fallen on hard times as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh told a news conference on Saturday that instructions will be given to the appropriate public sector officials so as to ensure that government funding for Christmas parties over the coming weeks will not be entertained.

“There is to be no state-sponsored or Christmas party in the public sector,” Rowley said, acknowledging that the new order would have an effect on the economies of “those who supply the Christmas party, but this is to curb the spread of the virus”.

“It ought to be not only a holy Christmas but also a quiet one,” Deyalsingh said, urging people to celebrate within your family unit and not invite persons to partake in the celebrations.

Prime Minister Rowley said he is aware that many villas in Tobago have been fully booked for the Christmas season and that while the government will not prevent persons residing in Trinidad travelling to the sister isle for the season, he is reiterating the need to follow all protocols and measures put in place to prevent the spread of the virus that has killed 113 and infected more than 5 000 people in Trinidad and Tobago.

Rowley, who along with Deyalsingh, was participating in the Ministry of Health news conference, said that his target remains for schools to be opened in January and that the actions of people during the Christmas period would determine whether this is achieved.

“Have a responsible Christmas. It is a big ask,” Rowley said, adding that the “issue we are fighting is the issue of contact, where there is congregation, stay isolated even from other members of your family”.

Rowley also announced that there would be no relaxation of the measures regarding the operations of bar and restaurants in the country, indicating that the policy does not prevent them from selling as much alcohol as possible. Rowley also announced that while the borders would remain closed allowing only for official exemptions, the government is now considering a proposal from the state-owned carrier, Caribbean Airlines for the use of an early testing programme to allow for an increased level of transportation.

(CMC)

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