Only vaccinated people will be evacuated to other islands: PM Gonsalves

People on the volcano-impacted island of St. Vincent will only be evacuated to the neighbouring islands if they are vaccinated against COVID-19, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves declared.

Cruise ships were sent to the island to be evacuated after the square meter high volcano La Soufrière erupted on Friday.

According to Ralph Gonsalves, the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, people need to be vaccinated before they board, he said at a news conference the day after the outbreak.

"The chief medical officer will identify the persons who have already been vaccinated so we can get them on board," Gonsalves said.

More than 16,000 people are being evacuated from the "red zones" - the most dangerous parts of the island. This map shows the danger zones on the island:

Some have to temporarily move to the neighbouring islands of St. Lucia, Grenada, Barbados and Antigua, Dominica.

Antigua has decided to house 250 evacuees, while Dominica will provide 300 shelters and St. Lucia will also accommodate 300 people.

Prime Minister of Dominica Dr Roosevelt Skerrit has announced that all the 300 evacuees arriving from St Vincent will be quarantined and later moved to Morrocan hotel and some private residences in Portsmouth.

He also stated that all evacuees would be provided accommodation free of any charge and internet services would also be facilitated without any cost.

Similarly, St Lucia has also started an initiative where residents can fill out a form to provide accommodation to the evacuees from St Vincent.

After the eruption of La Soufriere Volcano on Friday, more than 20,000 people were evacuated from red and orange zones. The evacuation was done by cruise ships.

Massive ashfall due to the volcano continues in the country, while neighbouring islands of Barbados, St Lucia are also experiencing ashfall after the massive explosion of the volcano. St Vincent is also experiencing a massive electricity outage.