With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the carnival activities in Anguilla, formally known as the Summer Festival, were cancelled since the early and strict handling of the disease on the island.
The Summer Festival has long been among the major promotions by the Anguilla Tourist Board, attracting hundreds of visitors and returning Anguillians to the island’s shores. Among the visitors were large numbers of nationals from French St. Martin and Dutch St. Maarten, with various pleasure boats blocking the inshore waters at Road Bay, Sandy Ground, on August Monday, for J’Ouvert Day; the Caribbean Beach Party; and a week-long series of boat races and carnival events.
Such has been the influx of persons from the two neighbouring French and Dutch Islands, that August Monday was referred to by their inhabitants visiting Anguilla as: “St. Martin/St. Maarten Day”.
But this August, given Covid-19, the travel restrictions, social distancing, and the spread of the virus in the French and Dutch Islands, it is a vastly different situation. The revelers, and others, unfortunately cannot come to Anguilla.
This has been re-emphasied by Premier Dr. Ellis Webster. Speaking on radio in Anguilla, he stated in part:
“As regards the activities in Anguilla next week, carnival itself has been cancelled but the people want to do some socializing with boat races and other activities. There is poka run and we heard the voice note allegedly from someone in St. Martin/St. Maarten saying that they were coming in by boat. The Commissioner of Police and the Royal Anguilla Police Force are taking that very seriously and will have patrols on the water and in the air. The Governor has asked his correspondent [colleagues] in St, Martin and St. Maarten to be aware of this.
“We are looking out to ensure that Anguillians stay safe. We know that on the other side of the water, even though they are our cousins, brothers and sisters, they have not been as lucky as we have been, with God’s providence to be covid-free. We hope to see them sometime in the future when things are back to normalcy. But right now we have to tell them we can’t have them come over and spend time and socialise with us. So there will be strict patrols for that.
“I will still urge the people of Anguilla, having these activities, to observe social distancing, follow their hygiene practices. In St. Martin/St. Maarten they found out that there may be these little pockets of community disease. There were persons who showed up positive who had never travelled, never been around anybody who travelled, and so the concern is that there are these symptomatic cases – and so we have to be careful about that.”
Premier Webster added: “In terms of wearing masks, at this point in time I am not mandating it – but certainly, God forbid that we did get a case that showed up. We will have to look into that as a measure of added protection.”
