BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, May 03, 2020 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – With social distancing being one of the main measures employed to contain the spread of the COVID-19 disease in the Federation, St. Kitts and Nevis, like most Caribbean countries, will this year forego the customary rally and march held in observation of the annual Labour Day celebrations.
Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris reminded citizens and residents of this in a national Labour Day address, which aired today, Sunday, May 03, and in which he paid tribute to the hardworking and dedicated men and women of the working class.
“This year because of COVID-19 workers cannot congregate in crowds as this is not in keeping with the advice of our health experts who are working hard to contain the spread of the corona virus disease. The workers’ health must come first. In the quiet of our homes, we can ponder the importance of Labour Day,” Prime Minister Harris said.
The honourable prime minister told the nation that these are highly unusual times, as the world is currently facing a pandemic “which is devastating in its impact.”
“Normally workers in our region would be out on the streets in great numbers celebrating Labour Day,” Dr. Harris said. “Sadly, due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic this is not possible as we must protect ourselves against the spread of the virus. Health experts around the world have advised that social distancing and the avoidance of crowds are effective ways to slow the transmission of the dreaded corona virus disease.”
With millions of persons infected worldwide and hundreds of thousands killed, Prime Minister Harris praised the strong measures introduced in a timely manner by the Team Unity Government to contain the spread of the virus. These measures included the introduction of partial and 24-hour lock-downs, the closing of the nation’s borders, aggressive contact tracing and quarantining.
“We have 15 cases with no admissions to our hospital and no deaths, with 6 of the 15 cases fully recovered. We are happy for all who have recovered and we wish the others a speedy recovery,” said Prime Minister Harris.
