Basseterre, St. Kitts, March 28, 2020 (Press Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister): Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris will make a live media appearance on WINN (98.9) FM (listen live at www.winnfm.com) today, Saturday, March 28th, 2020, from 12:30pm.
The live media appearance will be simulcast on VON Radio (860 AM or 93.7 FM) and ZIZ Radio (95.9, 96.1, 96.3 or 96.9 FM), and it is expected that other radio stations will play the interview if not live then at some point. The interview will focus on the Government’s efforts to protect the country from COVID-19.
Attorney General, the Honourable Vincent Byron will accompany the Prime Minister, who delivered a national address this morning at 6:00am in which he announced that a state of emergency would take effect from 7:00pm today, Saturday, March 28th.
“Last evening, I asked His Excellency our Governor General to declare a state of emergency. Effective 7:00pm today, Saturday, March 28th, 2020, all citizens and residents will be subject to a curfew between the hours of 7:00pm and 5:00am each day for the next 14 days. This is part of our scaled-up response to contain COVID-19 and minimize harm to our people.”
On Wednesday, March 25th, the Honourable Wendy Phipps said during a national broadcast that, “In my capacity as Minister of State with Responsibility for Health, it is my duty to inform you that as of 11:03pm on Tuesday, March 24th, 2020, the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis confirmed its first two cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in St. Kitts.”
Minister Phipps added: “The patients are a 57-year-old female and a 21-year-old male (of the same household), both of whom are Kittitian nationals, with recent travel histories to New York, USA – a jurisdiction which, up until March 24th, 2020, had recorded some 23,230 confirmed cases of COVID-19.”
Earlier this week, the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis unveiled a widely praised federal economic stimulus package that would pump roughly $120 million into the economy – the largest assistance package announced by any government in the region.
The stimulus package touches every part of the economy in an attempt to assist businesses, as well as households affected by the coronavirus pandemic. For the next six months, there will be no VAT or import duty for specific hygiene items. Ten million dollars will also be allocated to boost production in the agriculture sector.