The writing has

been on the wall for months, but it is now confirmed that there will be no Carnival

in Jamaica this year.

Instead,

eager revellers will have to wait until April 11, 2021 to get their full dose

of soca.

Carnival

road march was originally scheduled to be held in April 2020 but was postponed

until October 25, 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Jamaica has

recorded more than 4,000 coronavirus cases since March. In addition, when the

numbers started increasing in recent times, the Government outlawed parties and

large gatherings.

“As the

country enters the community transmission phase of the COVID-19 virus, we

strongly believe it is in the best interest of our people, to forego hosting

our annual carnival celebrations for this year,” said Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett.

“We are

mindful of the significant economic loss this will have on our country, as this

event generates billions annually, with many small and medium-sized enterprises

benefitting from the celebrations. However, the Government of Jamaica must

continue to put strong measures in place to prevent unnecessary exposure of our

people and visitors to the deadly disease.”

Chairman of

the Carnival in Jamaica stakeholders committee, Kamal Bankay, added that

rescheduling will lead to a safer carnival experience.

“Based on

all of the professional healthcare advice, taking into account that carnival is

not only a local but also an international tourism entertainment product, we

have no choice but to reschedule the staging of our Carnival in Jamaica Road

Parade from October 25th 2020 to April 11th 2021.  This will allow us the time to do what we

need to do to have a safe and enjoyable Carnival in 2021,” he said.

It was also

said that bands and fetes will honour all tickets and costumes purchased in

2020 for the 2021 staging.

But guess

what? Still no refund.

The bands

say the money paid by revellers has already been spent on the manufacturing of costumes.

“The revenue

to cover production comes from costumes sales. When the GOJ announced our first

postponement in March, costume production was far advanced already, despite

many revellers still owing on costumes. This is still the case – the bands have

continued to produce these costumes out of pocket (in a year with little or no

band revenue), despite most revellers still owing on costumes,” the statement said.

However, the

no refund policy is still a no-go for some patrons.

“Thank you

for considering our health and safety and “postponing”. However, as we all know

Covid has impacted us in many ways especially financially. And under these

special circumstances refunds should have been considered. A general bra and

panty size is not a custom made item. This would have been my first time

jumping and bcz of this terrible customer I don’t think I’ll ever jump again,”

one person said on Instagram.

“Give us our

money back then. Stop holding our funds hostage,” another added.