REIGNING Carnival King Ted Eustace and Queen Roxanne Omalo will not defend their crowns at this year's Taste of Carnival they told Newsday on Thursday.

Omalo cited covid19 concerns.

"The virus is not playing. Three family members got it at work thinking it was a safe zone." Omalo said she has lost nine friends to covid19.

"I was approached by my designer. When he got the message from NCC that there will be a Taste of Carnival this year, he asked me if I'm going to defend and I told him, 'No, I'll be out.'"

She said the pandemic has reinforced her original intent to retire as defending champion after Carnival 2020.

"For me, my life is more important."

Regarding safe zones, she said nowhere was safe.

"I'd be putting myself at risk going into the environment where I don't know who is coming from different backgrounds."

Recalling times she was let in to mas events as a known personality but without an admission wristband, Omalo feared such loopholes at safe-zone venues during the pandemic this Carnival.

[caption id="attachment_937892" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Roxanne Omalo in her winning costume Mother of Dragons - Keeper of Lights at the 2020 Queen of Carnival final at the Queen's Park Savannah. - File Photo/SUREASH CHOLAI[/caption]

"So I'm just saying it would happen. You'll get unvaccinated people in there because of who knows who. A friend of a friend always has a friend, eh? "

She urged that Carnival be reinstated after covid19 dies down.

Omalo said three weeks was too short a time to prepare or to attract tourists to help generate revenue.

"Of 600,000 vaccinated persons in TT, if only 200,000 decide to take part in Carnival, how will they make money?

"For me, money is not a priority." She said she was focussed on keeping her family safe from covid19.

"We are fully vaccinated – my entire family. I have family members who were fully vaccinated and gone out to safe-zone areas like work and contracted the virus.

"We don't know where this virus is. All this talk about party, music, alcohol in people's head, how are they going to control this environment?

“I hope that at the end of March we are not holding our heads and bawling."

Omalo said Carnival funds could have helped with schooling.

Eustace told Newsday, "Marcus Eustace, my brother, is the driving machine behind us. He is not able to come to Trinidad due to the short timeframe. That is why I'll not be able to defend my throne.

"But, I have Curtis (Eustace – my brother) here who is going to take part in the competition."

Curtis told Newsday he was glad to be representing the Eustace family and was aiming for a tenth crown.

"My little brother is not playing, but I do my own stuff. As the Eustace clan, we have everything in place. I flew in last night (Wednesday)."

Asked about unsure public funding for Carnival, he said he performs at Miami and Toronto Carnivals and did not do it for the money.

As to safety, he said, "I've had my three Pfizers. I'm fully vaccinated. I'm just following the protocols."

Curtis