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Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 12, 2020 (SKNIS): President of the St. Kitts and Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CIC), Giselle Matthews, has publicly thanked food suppliers in St. Kitts and Nevis for working assiduously to ensure that the demands of the general public are met.

“I want to thank especially and particularly those in the food business, the food suppliers who are our members, for taking the lead on that. They are under tremendous pressure; there is a lot of behind the scenes, a lot of logistics that’s taking place to get the food on to the supermarket shelves from de-stuffing [the unloading of goods from containers], to warehousing, to check off, to pricing, to on to the floor,” said Mrs. Matthews on the April 11 edition of the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) COVID-19 Daily Briefing. “And so, these persons are working arduously to serve the general public and to be ready for you to supply you with food and necessities that we need.”

The CIC President recognized frontline workers for going above and beyond the call of duty to serve the general public.

“They have been doing a great job; they are on the frontlines; they have families too and they need to be fed and so the essential workers who are involved in this process, the Chamber would like to say thank you to all of these employees of these businesses for continuously turning up and for doing what you do,” she said.

Mrs. Matthews said that the supply of food coming into the country continues as per usual.

“The distribution channels for food supply to date are still operational. Ports are opened for arrivals and discharge of products from the Miami end and we have no information to date of any challenges in shipping,” she added. “So, just to rest assured, that area is clear and as long as we are able to stay open at our ports we can receive that cargo.”

She appealed to the general public to follow the safety protocols currently in place to protect citizens and residents from the spread of COVID-19. She encouraged them to take care of their health and follow several hygienic precautionary practices such as washing their hands regularly, avoiding touching their eyes, nose and mouth, and maintaining social distancing. Mrs. Matthews especially implored on all members of the CIC, their employees and clients to do the same.