Caribbean news. THREE south bandleaders will support any decision by the Ministry of Health to delay the 2015 carnival celebrations as a possible measure, to prevent the spread of the deadly Ebola virus.
Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan, at an Ebola Prevention and sensitisation press conference at the ministry’s Park Street, Port-of-Spain headquarters last week, said there were no plans to postpone the annual Carnival celebrations though that was a discussion “that will occur as time progresses.” He said that the Ministry would be looking at developments within the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) regarding their approach to the spread and non-containment of the disease.
Fireworks Promotions & Trini Fever Crew Productions bandleader, Wayne Hanooman, yesterday described the threat posed by the Ebola virus as “extremely serious”, saying that the country, due to its small size, could not afford to even have one known case of the dreaded virus. “Ebola is a serious thing and if we were even to have one case, that would be a serious matter,” Hanooman said.
Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan. Photo courtesy www.newsday.co.tt
And while he described the response as excellent to his 2015 presentation titled “My Trinbago”, which was officially launched last week, Hanooman noted that bandleaders were going ahead with preparations for next year’s Carnival as no word had been relayed to them about its possible postponement. He added, “At the moment, we are just waiting to see what will happen but as I said before, your health and safety comes first.”
In full agreement was Southern Mas Associates bandleader, Roger Ramkissoon, who said that the health of masqueraders and spectators were of paramount importance to the band.
“There is a need to put measures in place to prevent a possible outbreak in this country and if the ministry decides to delay the Carnival, then I have no problem with that,” Ramkissoon said.
And with his band in the final stages of preparation with its launch scheduled to take place on November 15, he observed that most bandleaders were preparing for a hectic carnival season should the celebration proceed as expected. Ramkissoon said, “We are going ahead with our preparations but I would prefer to be safe than sorry.”
Wayne Hanooman. Photo courtesy www.guardian.co.tt
Meanwhile, veteran bandleader, Jacqui Koon How, who traditionally produces a kiddies mas band as well as a section within Ivan Kalicharan’s mas band, said she too preferred to have the nation’s health concerns placed as top priority.
Koon How said, “The Ministry of National Security and the Ministry of Health are the main players in this and we are just small players, so if they decide to delay it, there is nothing we can do. It would be a decision that we would all agree with because you are talking about the health of the whole nation,” she said.
According to the Centers for Diseases Control and prevention website, the total cases of Ebola worldwide were 8,399, with Laboratory-Confirmed Cases standing at 4,655 and Total Deaths were 4,033. Article courtesy http://www.newsday.co.tt/
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