SHUTDOWN VITAL

AS of tonight, for a period of about two weeks, all businesses in this country with a few exceptions, will be closed, as will churches and places of worship.

According to Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Dale Marshall, this is in an effort to prevent further spread of the COVID-19 virus in Barbados. Speaking in the House of Assembly yesterday as he led off debate on the Emergency Management (Amendment) Bill, Marshall indicated that Government, recognising its overriding obligation to keep Barbadians safe at this time, has triggered Stage 3 of the National Pandemic Preparedness Response, of which a shutdown of the island is essential.

Marshall said churches will be closed except where there is a funeral or wedding, and there are stipulations for those. He stated that for funerals no more than 10 mourners will be allowed, along with the officiant, the funeral director and necessary staff; while for weddings, the numbers are limited to the bride, the groom, official witnesses and the marriage officer.

The AG revealed that anyone who breaches the stipulations of the Emergency Management Order, without reasonable explanation, could be fined $50,000 and/or spend 12 months in prison. His comments came during the debate to amend the Emergency Management Act to give the Chief Medical Officer the responsibility to manage the country’s response in this public health emergency, he explained that in its original state, the Act gave the powers in the event of a physical natural disaster to the Director of Emergency Management.

He said in an effort to stem the spread of the virus and limit human contact, it was decided that all businesses will be closed. However, he said, essential services will remain open and exceptions have been made for other businesses to operate.

“The reason we are saying all businesses are closed is because we need Barbadians to stay away from each other. If we ask Barbadians to stay at home then there are consequences, so businesses out of necessity have to be closed during this period,” he maintained.

According to the AG, essential services include medical profession; paramedical profession; employees of hospitals, pharmacies, pharmaceutical agencies and clinics; caregivers; police officers; the Barbados Defence Force; customs, prison and fire officers; security services; telecommunications, electricity, media and broadcasting services; disaster management services; transportation services; the air and sea ports; water services; the collection, treatment and storage of refuse and those involved in the removal, handling or burial of deceased persons and disposal of dead animals. Those services, he said, are unaffected by the curfew order, which will be in place until April 14, between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. daily.

He said while they will operate as usual, it is expected that those entities would try to scale back the number of people that are engaged.

In addition, he said there are some businesses that will be permitted to operate during the day, but employing the principle of social distancing. He said they will be allocated specific hours within which they can operate and are being urged to use their “good sense” in scheduling those hours and employ “skeleton staff”. He stated that abattoirs, butcher shops and fish markets will be allowed to operate between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.; bakeries from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.; farms from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m.; pharmaceutical, juices, soft drinks, dairy products manufacturers as well as food processors and food distributors from 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. He went on to say that those companies include banks, credit unions and other financial institutions, excluding insurance companies, will be allowed to open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.; cleaning services between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.; gas stations between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. and restaurants can open between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily, but only for take-away and drive-thru services as there will be no dining allowed in the establishments.

Marshall added that while hotels and villas can operate for the full 24 hours, the gaming rooms, spas, gyms, golf courses and other ancillary recreational services provided in hotels will be required to close.

He went on to say that construction in this country will also come to a halt. The only exemption, the AG indicated, is for those working to complete the Harrison’s Point facility. In that vein, he said while all hardware stores will be closed, they will be allowed to open to supply materials for the Harrison’s Point project. (JRT)