Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs during Wednesday’s weekly press briefing tried to reassure parts of society worried about a recent decision to allow Carnival despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Government will conduct due diligence and assess the public health safety plans of St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF).
She argued that for there to be any chance of the celebrations taking place leeway had to be given to start the preparations, including COVID-19 protocols. The current situation will be monitored and if it deteriorates the event could yet be stopped, said the prime minister.
She added that the “biggest threat and risk” of a postponement or last-minute cancellation lies with SCDF, as government would not be held responsible for any related loss of income, investments or otherwise.
However, her statement “it’s not for everybody to go out there” raises questions. Why even have such festivities if they cannot be fully enjoyed by all, and how does one control the personal behaviour of revellers?
To be fair, the original release announcing the approval mentioned there will be no J’ouvert Morning or other jump-ups this year to prevent crowding, and attendance in Carnival Village is to be limited for the same reason as well. It seems hard to imagine fans at some of the scheduled concerts, pageants and other activities consistently wearing facemasks and social distancing, but perhaps this is possible.
Keep in mind that even participants in a troupe of the costumed parades would need to do so from one another under existing rules, because they are not in the same household. Spectators along the route will also have to avoid being in proximity to anyone outside their immediately family.
Some have reasoned that other famous carnivals have already been cancelled in Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, Curaçao, Aruba, etc., but there is a big difference. Those are all at the end of January and in February – which is why they still had 2020 seasons – while that of St. Maarten starts on March 26 and did not take place last year, as SCDF pointed out.
Things could change quite a bit by then based on more widespread testing and vaccination, although realistically it should take several months before a vast majority of the community get the required immunisation shots. And the problem is that until such time people simply cannot let their guard down, because if they do and a new outbreak occurs it would seriously jeopardise the as-yet-fragile socioeconomic recovery, never mind potentially overburdening medical resources on the island.
The stakes are high and not just for those actively involved in Carnival.
