Published 7 October 2020
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
GOVERNMENT OF ST. KITTS AND NEVIS ANTICIPATES AN INCREASE IN VISITOR ARRIVALS BETWEEN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 2020
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, October 07, 2020 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – With the date for the full reopening of the country’s borders to visitors and returning nationals drawing closer, Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris is urging citizens and residents to prepare themselves “for a dramatic increase in the numbers of returning nationals and visitors between November and December.”
“I say significant because with our borders closed the arrival and departure numbers are very small. These numbers will definitely climb as the number of flights in and out increases,” Prime Minister Harris said during his opening remarks on the Tuesday, October 06 edition of Leadership Matters.
St. Kitts and Nevis’ borders will be fully reopened on October 31, 2020. The borders closed on March 25 in order to minimize the importation of the COVID-19 virus and its transmission among citizens and residents.
Thehonourable prime minister indicated that it is likely that new infections of COVID-19 will come with the opening of our borders but stated that the protocols and guidelines implemented by the Government are intended to minimize that risk and to keep people safe.
Dr. Harris said, “The lesson from Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Trinidad and Tobago and indeed everywhere, particularly Europe, is that we should never become complacent in our efforts to contain the COVID-19 disease. The best way to do so is to comply with the health protocols.”
Thenon-pharmaceutical measures to which Prime Minister Harris spoke include the wearing of masks in public, the frequent washing of hands, as well as practising physical and social distancing.
The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis, through the Ministries of Health and Tourism, has been putting a number of additional measures and protocols in place ahead of the borders being reopened, particularly at the RLB International Airport. These include making upgrades to the Welcome Centre on the ramp in front of the arrivals area, converting the VIP Lounge into the medical screening area and constructing sneeze guards on the counters.
