OF POLITICAL STALWART

Grenada Mourns Loss of Political Stalwart

National flags are being flown at halfmast for one week in honour of the late Elvin Nimrod, former Parliamentary Representative for Carriacou and Petite Martinique, who died away on Saturday, Feb. 6, in the United States.

Prime Minister, Dr. the Right Hon. Keith Mitchell, made the announcement during an official statement on the death of his former colleague.

Nimrod played a key role in the New National Party over the years holding the positions of Chairman and then Deputy Political Leader. He won the Carriacou and Petite Martinique Constituency in 1999 and retained the seat in the 2003, 2008 and 2013 general elections.

The Prime Minister Mitchell recalls the late Elvin Nimrod as someone who selflessly served his country and people.

He said, “Brother Nimrod gave much of his life to the development of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. He was generous in his service to both Government and the New National Party. He placed special emphasis on representing his constituency - serving his constituents with passion and dedication. As the Deputy Prime Minister for several years, I had utmost confidence in his ability to get the job done.”

Nimrod will be granted an official state funeral, the date of which will be announced later.

On Sunday, during his 2021 Independence Day message, Dr. Mitchell described Nimrod’s death as a great loss for Grenada.

He said, “Let me express my heartfelt condolences to the family of the late Elvin Nimrod who bid us farewell. I know our sisters and brothers in Carriacou and Petit Martinique are particularly grieved by his passing. Brother Nimrod gave yeoman services to our beloved country, holding various portfolios in Government and serving as a Member of Parliament for over two decades. In addition, he also served as Deputy Prime Minister for about seven years.”

Meanwhile, Parliamentary Representative for Carriacou and Petite Martinique, Hon. Kindra Maturine-Stewart, said resi-

The late Elvin Nimrod, former Parliamentary Representative for Carriacou and Petite Martinique

dents of the sister isles are hurting and saddened that the individual who was responsible for transforming their lives and providing opportunities for their personal growth and development has passed.

“He once said that he will die for the people of Petite Martinique and we believe that he would’ve done just so. He was deeply loved by many, well respected, he was a humble soul, very kind and very appreciated. Mr. Nimrod had basically transformed Carriacou and Petite Martinique. He has impacted positively the lives as many, especially our young people. He gave us opportunities that we never thought of or dreamt of and I can speak of what I would call an education revolution that he started here in Carriacou and Petite Martinique - many persons, from all works of life, received opportunities to get and to attain higher education through the many scholarships that Government was offering at the time,” Hon. Maturine-Stewart said.

She reminisced on Nimrod’s influence in her political career and success thus far and said he will be remembered for his excellent service to the sister isles.

Hon. Maturine-Stewart said, “I want to personally thank him, although I’ve done it in the past, to do so again to thank him for his counsel, guidance and support which saw my success and the success of the New National Party in the 2018 general elections. He was a stalwart, a humble, gracious, caring man who truly loved the people of Carriacou and Petite Martinique and gave his all to us. It is, indeed, a very sad time for us, for we have lost a giant, a father, a friend.”

HEALTH MATTERS

No Active COVID-19 Cases in Grenada

Grenada has no active COVID-19 cases at present.

The country’s latest COVID-19 dashboard, updated daily by the Ministry of Health, shows that 147 of the country’s 148 cases have recovered, with one death recorded, as of Feb. 9.

Seventy of Grenada’s total number of COVID-19 cases were imported, with the remaining 78 linked to the December 2020 cluster.

At present, there are 197 persons in quarantine, as they arrived in Grenada in recent days and are awaiting testing and subsequent medical clearance. To date, 20, 819 rapid and PCR tests have been conducted in Grenada.

Despite the welcome news, health officials are urging Grenadians not to become complacent.

At the Feb. 10 Post Cabinet Press Briefing, Health Minister, Hon. Nickolas Steele, said the threat of COVID-19 remains very real and, considering the new, more infectious strains that have been identified, it is essential that we keep our guard up now more than ever.

Nightly Curfew Continues With Slight Modification

The nightly curfew in Grenada will continue, albeit with a slight modification.

Health Minister, Hon. Nickolas Steele confirmed on Wednesday, Feb. 10, that the curfew will now be in place from 10:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m.

The decision was made during Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting following de-

liberation on the topic and consideration of advice from the health team.

During the post Cabinet press briefing, Minister Steele explained, “The reason for the change is that a significant number of farmers, fishermen and persons who exercise in the mornings, have been restricted because of the 5:00 a.m. end to the curfew. These are activities that we want to accommodate and encourage at this point in time, so we have made that adjustment.”

The Health Minister also explained the rationale for maintaining the curfew, although Grenada currently has no active COVID-19 cases.

He said, “As we have seen with other Caribbean islands and worldwide, the current strains of COVID-19 are extremely unforgiving. If you allow complete free movement within your country and COVID does get in, as has been shown to happen, no matter how strict or stringent policies are at the border, by the time the presence of the disease is detected, it is too late to control it. As such, regrettably, we do need to continue with the nightly curfew.”

Minister Steele is hopeful that the level of restrictions can be reduced.

He said, “We hope that there will be a chance in the not-too-distant future to remove or reduce further, the hours of the curfew, but it all depends on the threat to Grenada and the various strains that are quite possibly in existence throughout the region.