By FARRAH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

THE people responsible for hosting a beach party near Sweeting’s Cay over the weekend will be brought to court for organising a large public gathering in breach of the COVID-19 emergency orders, police said.

On Saturday, police on Grand Bahama reported that they received information of a beach party happening on a nearby cay.

According to initial reports, shortly after 3pm officers of the Northeastern Division, Marine Section and Mobile Unit, proceeded by boat to an area opposite Sweeting’s Cay. There they observed a large gathering engaged in a beach party. Police said upon their arrival, the party’s facilitators were warned of prosecution under the emergency orders while the crowd was ordered to disperse.

After news of the incident hit social media, many people asked why the partygoers were allowed to “disperse” instead of being arrested.

When contacted yesterday, Superintendent Terecita Pinder assured the public the people responsible for the party will be brought to court.

“A lot of people got it wrong,” she said. “If you notice, the report said they were warned of prosecution. That means they will be summoned to go to court and they are going to court. Bear in mind we had one boat and that was a lot of persons who attended the beach party, so it made more sense for us to summon them to go to court.

“We got all of the particulars and we found out who the perpetrators were and who was hosting the party and they will be taken before the courts at a later date.”

Supt Pinder said according to the information police gathered, the beach party started around noon. She said as soon as officials were tipped off, they got “their boat and people together and headed to the cay as quickly as possible”.

She said while she could not say exactly how many people were at the party, “quite a large amount of persons were there”.

“When they saw the police vessel approaching the cay, a lot of people ran to their vessels and headed out quickly,” Supt Pinder explained. “There were a lot of persons out there. It was obviously a planned event.”

Asked if police on Grand Bahama were noticing a rise in large public gatherings following the relaxation of some of the emergency regulations, she said: “No, the party was an isolated incident. There is no rise in matters of that nature happening. None at all.

“The majority of people are still taking the protocols seriously, but we are not out of the woods as yet. My advice is for people to adhere to all laws pertaining to COVID-19. So we have to protect ourselves, do what is mandatory like wearing masks, practice social distancing and follow all the laws pertaining to business places and social gatherings that the prime minister put in place and then we’ll be okay.”

She added: “Once we adhere to all those laws and we are mindful that we’re our neighbour’s keepers and that we are here to protect ourselves and our neighbours, then we’ll be fine.”

When asked to comment on the beach party which took place in his constituency, Finance Minister Peter Turnquest said he only wanted to remind the public to follow the rules that have been put in place for their own protection as well as the greater good of the country.

“I want to remind residents to observe the orders put in place for their safety,” the East Grand Bahama MP told this newspaper. “If we all do our part we can beat this virus, but if we insist on resisting the rules, it will be a long slow recovery for all of us.”