Covid-19Local News ‘Officials breaking COVID-19 rules’ by Barbados Today 23/07/2020 written by Barbados Today Updated by Stefon Jordan 23/07/2020 3 min read A+A- Reset Senator Monique Taitt Share FacebookTwitterLinkedinWhatsappEmail 70 “High-ranking officials” are flouting the COVID-19 protocols, Senator Monique Taitt has charged. Declaring that she is “furious” by the actions of those who should know better, the senator warned against relaxing the country’s handling of the pandemic. But she did not identify the alleged offenders or specify their rank. Senator Taitt said: “I am confused or flummoxed at the concept of people waiting till we get to this point of flout the protocols. We cannot wait ‘til now to be ignoring the protocols that have been put in place by the powers that be. It is ridiculous and I for one am furious.” “Of concern to me is the fact that from what you are seeing on social media some of the persons who are flouting these protocols are persons who should know better who are in high ranking positions who are officials in high places. We no longer have a media where it is just a newspaper so that if a picture doesn’t look good you can move that picture and put another; we have the type of media where we are getting real-time communication. So if you are caught doing something wrong it’s going to make social media even it doesn’t make the newspaper.” Calling on those at the top to lead by example, she said: “We have to lead by example. We cannot continue to have situations where persons in charge are seen in the public domain and having close and personal conversations without a mask on or people who have their mask at their chin or below. “We have a situation in this country where if certain people do it then it is so. If they see certain people doing certain things it’s the law. It doesn’t matter what is written so the persons in high places need to pay attention. They need to stick to the protocols that some of them helped to draft.” You Might Be Interested In Crystal Beckles-Holder, 2nd runner up in regional competition GUYANA: Body of child found after gold mine collapses Barbadians asked to help with return tickets for Haitians The lawyer said Bajans have to get it right if we are encouraging visitors to come to the island. Senator Taitt said statistics show we have COVID by importation. She said: “We need to follow the protocols. It offends me that I can see on social media at a restaurant hundreds of persons and not a mask in sight. It offends me to see people at the opening of or the reopening of a restaurant no masks in sight. Or the only person that has on the masks is the server. “If you are the one with the disease and no mask, you are putting them at risk. Then they go home and put their family at risk. We need to be setting proper examples for our people.” The senator said many had grown complacent after the country recorded no further COVID-19 cases as the weeks passed. “We get to a point where we are at zero and all of sudden everybody gone mad,” she declared. “There is something fundamentally flawed with that. I am wearing this mask because I was directed by the honourable Clerk of Parliament that I should speak with the mask on. And as much as it is fretting me I am going to wear it to make the point.” Senator Taitt reminded the upper chamber that COVID-19 is still a clear and present danger which should not be toyed with. She said: “We don’t know if we are symptomatic unless we’ve gone for a test. We don’t know so we need to be our brother’s keeper. The exposure is present. We are opening borders and saying to people come work here and I get it but not to our detriment. “Everyone who comes here under this Bill will interact with potentially all of us in here. But what about the people in the tourism industry who would be cooking for them, cleaning for them, interacting with them, shopping for them and babysitting for them.” Barbados Today Stay informed and engaged with our digital news platform. The leading online multimedia news resource in Barbados for news you can trust. You may also like Energy regulator severely understaffed, minister reveals 14/02/2025 ‘Titan’ historian Trevor Marshall, dies at 77 14/02/2025 Exports at risk at choked Bridgetown port, say brokers 14/02/2025