by Brian Major
Last updated: 4:30 PM ET, Thu March 12, 2020
A premier Caribbean luxury resort is suffering significant losses and will reduce workers' hours following cancellations attributed to COVID-19 fears, according to a local press report.
The Four Seasons Nevis has "already lost $3 million" in Eastern Caribbean currency ($1.1 million) due to bookings canceled in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak said Kelvin Daly, a local politician. Resort officials delivered the news in "a hastily-convened meeting with senior staff" of the deluxe property, located on the smaller of the nation's two main islands.
Daly said officials at the deluxe property, considered a significant economic anchor for Nevis, announced the resort will implement a 40 percent cut in staff hours. The SKNNews.com report did not specify when the reductions would begin. Four Seasons Nevis representatives contacted Thursday by TravelPulse declined to comment on the situation.
Daly said the resort's links with local businesses means a significant bookings slowdown "has the potential to be much worse" than the resort's temporary closure for wide-scale renovations last year. "As (the Four Seasons Nevis) goes, so goes the economy," Daly said.
On his Twitter page, Mark Brantley, Nevis' premier, said COVID-19 "is taking a terrible toll on the health and economic well-being of our Caribbean region. Even little Nevis that has no cases yet has suffered hotel cancellations."
Brantley continued, "Yet again the Caribbean is being asked to cash a cheque it did not write. Yet again we are suffering from events that did not originate with us and to which we have not contributed. We must continue to demand a better paradigm for development and resilience for our region."
Government officials say there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in St. Kitts and Nevis. However, like other Caribbean destinations, the territory has enhanced screening and "pre-emptive healthcare procedures at its air and seaports" while "the health system has moved to detect, contain and manage the situation in the event the virus reaches the [country]."
Officials are requesting persons traveling to or from COVID-19-impacted destinations within the last 14 days not to travel to St. Kitts & Nevis. The country is screening all such passengers and "reserves the right to deny entry to any non-Nationals who have visited the countries listed above within the incubation period of 14 days"
St. Kitts & Nevis residents who have visited impacted countries within the 14-day incubation period will be required to go through the established screening process, and the government is "complying with international health regulations and reporting to the Caribbean Public Health Agency, the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization as appropriate."
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