A maskless Akon, maskless bikini-clad babes, and a dining hall of maskless guests. Those were the scenes that went viral after charity matchmaker Todd Krim posted videos and photos about a Valentine’s Day mini-bash at the Hodges Bay Resort and Spa in Antigua and Barbuda amidst a pandemic on the rise outside the hotel walls. It all appeared as if happening in another reality.
In everyone else's reality restaurants have been barred from seating diners, bars have been told not to entertain patrons, and police patrol the beaches to break up gatherings. But in this other reality, a throng of maskless guests fills a dining hall shoulder to shoulder, people are dancing almost skin-to-skin, and a dozen and a half maskless bikini-clad women are inches apart in the sand, posing for beach photos.
It convinces many in Antigua and Barbuda that if you just got off a plane and you plan to stay at a hotel, you can live in a different reality. Added to that, the authorities will oblige you. Get caught doing that sort of thing in everyone else's reality however, and you may end up in jail, or short a few thousand dollars you paid in fines.
So what became of the whole situation? Tourism Minister, Charles "Max" Fernandez promised an investigation which one of our panelists is confident will never be spoken of again. The hotel denied that anything worth being called a violation of health regulations had ever occurred. And the police are not known to have arrested or fined anyone on the property for the incident. On this segment we asked whether there really is a double standard, and if we can balance offering a welcoming environment to visitors with enforcing public health rules. The host is Kieron Murdoch.
Our guests are:
This programme first aired on NewsCo Observer Radio 91.1 FM on February 28, 2021.
