By: Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Friday 16th April 2021) — More than 150 hotel rooms in St. Kitts and Nevis are expected to be reserved to accommodate displaced citizens and residents of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as one of two options considered should requests be made for hosting facilities in the Federation. National Disaster Coordinator and COVID-19 Task Force Chairman Abdias Samuel outlined the options at the NEOC COVID-19 Briefing on Wednesday 14th April 2021.
The first option is hospitality-based sponsorship — citizens and residents willing to accept displaced Vincentians into their homes, or Vincentians living in St. Kitts-Nevis who want to have family members from the affected areas brought over. For the second option, several hotels have committed rooms: the St. Kitts Marriott Hotel (30 rooms), Koi Resort (70 rooms), Sugar Bay Club (approximately 30 rooms), and on Nevis, Mount Nevis Hotel (approximately 30 rooms).
Samuel said there is “no specific date” for arrivals, as the process will be coordinated through CDEMA, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in St. Vincent, and NEMA, with persons needing to meet the federation’s COVID-19 entry criteria. On Monday 12th April, St. Kitts and Nevis successfully shipped supplies — including donations coordinated by the SKNT&LU, which donated cases of water purchased from local company Rainforest Water — to St. Vincent. A second food supplies drive is under way, with non-perishable items accepted at the NEMA Headquarters at Lime Kiln until Monday 19th April at 12 p.m.
The La Soufrière Volcano, located in the northern section of St. Vincent, first exploded at 8:40 a.m. on Friday 9th April 2021. A second explosion was recorded on Tuesday 13th April. The eruption displaced between 16,000 and 20,000 people from high-risk zones, with about 6,000 considered most vulnerable. A UN official warned of a “growing humanitarian crisis” amid ongoing eruptions and damage to water supplies, food production, and health facilities across the island.