Unless there’s some dramatic change, Carnival 2021 is not on – Rowley

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Unless there’s some dramatic change, Carnival 2021 is not on – Rowley

Carnival is not on the schedule for 2021.

Speaking on Monday at the Spotlight on the Economy forum at the Hyatt Regency, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said: “I see no future for Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago in the months ahead…unless there’s some dramatic change in the wind that will blow across us by Christmas, Carnival is not on.”

Rowley said “It would be madness, that in the throes of a global pandemic, to even be talking about staging a Carnival in a few short months time.

Dr Rowley added, “Picture Jouvert morning but with the coronavirus still a major issue not only in T&T but in the world around us it’s just not on. Let us be thankful that we are still alive to see each other’s face. Let us remember what our country passed through in 1918. Let’s us understand what is happening in countries abroad that have not been able to control the spread among its population. And in those examinations and review, a carnival which is the perfect environment for the spreading of the virus is not something that we can encounter (accoutrement) at this time.”

Prime Minister Rowley said, “This decision will have serious economic knock-on effects, things that we will lose in terms of the economy. But by the same token, we cannot hope to gain on that swing and die on the merry go round.”

“With the coronavirus still a major issue in the world around us, it is just not on,” he declared.

Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, which also celebrates carnival at the same time as TT, has already cancelled its festivities.

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