Dear Editor,
As a former President of the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation I stand in support of St. Martin of Tours Parish Priest Father Adam in asking our Government to cancel all plans and refuse issuing the necessary permits for Carnival 2021. And just in case there were thoughts of it, do the same for the Heineken Regatta.
Hopefully the Collectivité will also deny permits for Carnival on the French side of the island.
None of these events where no one can truly control crowds getting in each other’s faces must take place this year to prevent more havoc on our health system and by extension on our really-screwed-up economy!
As much as I personally love the annual event, the idea to organize St. Maarten 2021 Carnival is irresponsible and dumb, not to mention playing Russian roulette with our citizens’ and visitors’ health.
Our Governments must ensure everyone living in St. Maarten and Saint Martin, legally and illegally, gets vaccinated against all COVID-19 strains as soon as possible. The US CDC [Centers for Disease Control – Ed.] predicts that in the US, the place where well over 70+ per cent of all our tourists come from, the more aggressive UK Corona Virus variant could become the predominant strain by March 2021, with rapid growth projected in the coming months … yet our SXM Government succumbs to the SCDF’s public scolding and gives the green light for Carnival 2021? A truly irresponsible and dumb decision that hopefully will get rescinded.
P.S. I understand Trinidad and Brazil both cancelled Their carnivals!
Michael J. Ferrier
