St Lucia Prime Minister, Allen Chastanet has defended the decision of his administration to impose fees for individuals going into quarantine, saying that the government had been paying an estimated US$1 million monthly for state quarantine facilities.
In a Caribbean Media Corporation report, Mr Chastanet told reporters while the imposition of quarantine fees was a difficult decision for cabinet to make, it was a decision that was necessary.
He said while he also understood the reaction of some members of the public to the announcement of the fees, he emphasised the government has basically been covering the quarantine cost that includes the cost of rooming, security, nurses, feeding individuals, and renting the facilities.
Government established several quarantine centres since March when the island recorded its first case of COVID-19 that has so far infected 28 people in St Lucia.
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