Prime Minister of Saint Vincent is recovering after head injury in protest Reuters

Robertson S. Henry

KINGSTON (Reuters)-Officials said that the prime minister of the Caribbean country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was hit by an object on Thursday during a COVID-19-related protest and was preparing to fly to nearby Barbados for treatment.

His office said in a statement on Thursday that Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves (Ralph Gonsalves) was caught by a cannonball directly above his temple when he passed through about 200 protesters to reach the entrance to the parliament. hit.

Witnesses from Reuters who saw protesters throwing water bottles and stones heard someone in the crowd shout: “Someone blows the Prime Minister’s head!”

Reuters pictures show that the blood from Goncalves’ head wound stained his white dress shirt because an assistant put a stack of tissues on his head.

Gonçalves’ office stated that he “bleeds too much” and was taken to the hospital.

“He has notified his colleague that he is recovering,” his office said.

At the parliament meeting in the evening, Finance Minister Camillo Gonsalves (Camillo Gonsalves) said that medical staff recommended that the Prime Minister be flown to Barbados for an MRI scan.

At the time of the incident, 74-year-old Gonçalves was returning to the parliamentary meeting, and MPs were discussing a public health reform that would require most front-line workers to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines consists of a series of small islands in the southern Caribbean Sea, with more than 110,000 residents, and is known for its picturesque harbour and white sandy beaches.

The country’s tourism industry has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with approximately 15,000 people displaced from a volcano that erupted in April after decades of inactivity.