The Royal Saint Lucia Police Force has announced that effective Friday, March 20 at 6 p.m., all mass crowd events will be cancelled.

“There will be no permits issued to host events, and for those who have already received approvals, these will be revoked,” Police Commissioner Milton Desir, said. “The government has taken the decision that all mass crowd events will be cancelled. We understand that this decision will have financial implications, but we must do what we can to preserve the safety of the country.”

Commissioner Desir explained that while mass crowd events are generally considered to be gatherings of 50 or more people, such large numbers may pose a threat to public health due to the coronavirus.

“So we’ve decided that gatherings of ten persons are a mass crowd for the specific purposes of COVID-19.  As such, effective Friday, March 20 at 6 p.m., all mass gatherings of 10 or more will not be allowed, because the aim is to prevent or reduce the spread of the virus,” he said.

Similarly, the Ministry of Health is asking persons to reduce travel, especially on public transport.

View the full interview with Police Commissioner Milton Desir: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKZYK9bUP04