St Vincent & the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves
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KINGSTOWN, St Vincent (CMC) – There will be no military parade on October 27 to mark the 42nd anniversary of St Vincent and the Grenadines’ political independence from Britain.
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves made the announcement in Parliament on Wednesday.
The PM said the decision was taken based on the country’s current COVID-19 situation.
“Last year, of course, at this time, though COVID was in the air, the numbers, in terms of infections and deaths, were very small and, of course, we did not have the Delta variant. Cabinet has taken the decision not to have the parade for Independence (this year) at Victoria Park or anywhere else face-to-face because of the situation with COVID,” Gonsalves said.
He added: “Accordingly, I will broadcast an address to the nation in the usual way, but I will do so virtually; on television and on the radio.”
It is reported that rehearsals for the event were called off last week.
SVG is currently battling an upsurge in COVID-19 cases, which has claimed 26 lives since September 9 — taking the total to 38.
According to data released on Sunday, there were 1,286 active cases in the country and the results of 800 samples were pending.
Since March 2020, SVG has recorded 4,096 cases of COVID-19 and 2,693 recoveries.