The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

MARINE Resources and Family Island Affairs Minister Clay Sweeting says he expects several Family Island regattas and festivals will be held this summer once COVID-19 cases remain low in the country.

“My ministry (has) been advocating for us to get the regattas up and going because we understand that for Family Islands it’s a big economic driver so we’re starting to plan from June moving forward for regattas, homecomings and festivals,” Mr Sweeting told reporters before yesterday’s Cabinet meeting.

“I’m sure the whole country is excited. Family Islanders are excited so we’re starting to put everything in place to ensure that we’re successful in doing so.

“Starting June and moving forward, we can expect to have regattas and festivals in line with health protocols. We also work along with the Ministry of Health, but we do understand that cases are dropping and so starting June, we will start working towards that.”

Mr Sweeting spoke after Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis reportedly told Cat Islanders over the weekend that the island’s Rake n’ Scrape Festival and Regatta would resume this year.

His comments also come weeks after representatives from the National Regatta Committee announced the cancellation of the National Family Island Regatta for the third consecutive year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Asked yesterday how officials plan to police the festive events given current social distancing protocols, the Central and South Eleuthera MP said his ministry is hoping most restrictive measures will be relaxed before the festivals’ start dates.

“As we see, COVID protocols and restrictions have been slackened over time. We’re here in March so that would be in June so we’re hoping not to foreshadow the Ministry of Health,” the minister said.

“But we’re hoping that a lot of these restrictions will be to the point that (they won’t) be as stringent as what we see today so the protocols what you would see encapsulated now would hopefully not be in June, so that’s why we’ve set the date in June.

“The Ministry of Health has done a wonderful job in ensuring that the protocols ​were in place and that the cases have been reduced so hopefully in June we will be to a different place where we might not be having this conversation.”