The National Covid-19 Task Force is addressing two security breaches that have
occurred within the past four days at a resort on Nevis that had been approved
to offer guests a “vacation in place” quarantine option which permits guests who
test negative for Covid-19 upon arrival to utilise the services and amenities of
the resort without leaving the property. Investigations into the matter have
revealed that the first of these two incidents occurred on Thursday evening and
involved two (2) guests who illegally left the resort’s premises for approximately
two (2) hours. The second security breach took place after midnight on Saturday
morning and involved six (6) guests who also managed to leave the resort’s
compound without authorization.
The general public is advised that all eight (8) of the individuals have been
removed from the resort and are now housed in a Government quarantine site
until their departure, while they await a hearing before the magistrate to answer
the charges of breaking the Country’s quarantine regulations. In light of these
successive security breaches, which are serious offences, the Task Force has
suspended the “vacation in place” designation for the tour group at the resort
until all matters are fully investigated and satisfactory corrective measures to
address security lapses are put in place.
As a result of these two security breaches, and the fact that the eight guests may
have come into contact with a number of local individuals at a night spot on
Nevis, an aggressive contact tracing exercise has been started by the Ministry of
Health. This process will result in the quarantine and testing of the individuals
who may have been exposed to the eight guests of the resort, in an effort to
control the spread of infection should any of the eight guests test positive for
Covid-19.
The National Covid-19 Task Force remains vigilant in working with all state
agencies to protect our Country’s borders, control the spread of infection, and
ensure enforcement of the Covid-19 (Prevention & Control) Act and its related
Statutory Rules & Orders (SROs).
The Task Force will continue to provide regular updates on this active
investigation.
March 14, 2021
