SCARBOROUGH, Tobago — The Trinidad and Tobago government announced on Saturday a total ban on Christmas parties within the public sector, while also urging the private sector to do the same.

The Government also announced a (TT)$30 million (One TT dollar=US$0.16 cents) initiative aimed at assisting persons who have lost their jobs, or have fallen on hard times  s a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh told a news conference here that instructions will be given to the appropriate public sector officials to ensure that government funding for Christmas parties over the coming weeks will not be entertained.

“There is to be no state-sponsored or Christmas party in the public sector,’ Rowley said, acknowledging that the new order would have an effect on the economies of “those who supply the Christmas party, but this is to curb the spread of the virus”.

“It ought to be not only a holy Christmas, but also a quiet one,” Deyalsingh said, urging people to celebrate within their family unit and not invite people to partake in the celebrations.

Prime Minister Rowley said he is aware that many villas in Tobago have been fully booked for the Christmas Season and that while the government will not prevent people residing in Trinidad travelling to the sister isle for the Season, he is reiterating the need to follow all protocols and measures put in place to prevent the spread of the virus that has killed 113 and infected more than 5,000 people in Trinidad and Tobago.