The national lockdown will be tightened for the duration of this weekend, the Minister of Health and Wellness announced Wednesday.
Annoyed by large volumes of traffic on the roads and blatant disregard by Barbadians, especially young people, in following the directives to stay at home, Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic declared a curfew from 7 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Monday.
He said police have been directed to apprehend those caught on the road who were not essential workers, were not part of Operation Seek and Save or taking part in the Vaccination Programme and those that did not possess the necessary emergency pass.
The minister revealed that while young people believed they were immune to COVID-19 they were currently 40 minors in the island’s isolation facilities, as he announced the first death of a child, aged 9, from complications of COVID-19
He contended that young people were “playing Russian Roulette with their lives and ours”.
Lt Col Bostic said: “I am not satisfied with still relatively high volume of traffic on our roads. Many persons in this country still appear to be leaving home for the sake of leaving home. This is a major part of our problem. I have therefore made a recommendation to the Prime Minister and to the Emergency Operation Center that we need to do a little more to significantly reduce the number of persons on the roads of Barbados, this coming weekend in particular,” Bostic said. “Accordingly, the Attorney General will very shortly be issuing a new directive in which we shall impose a weekend curfew; whereby effective Friday 7 p.m. to Monday 6 a.m. it shall be unlawful for persons not in possession of the appropriate pass or not involved in the vaccination exercise, either as a service provider or recipient of the vaccine, to leave the confines of their homes. Simply put, if you are not an essential worker going to work or coming from work; if you do not have a government authorized pass or if you are not directly involved in Operation Seek and Save or the National Vaccination Exercise and if you are not heading to or coming from a medical facility on legitimate business, then you shall have absolutely no permission to be on the roads of Barbados from Friday 7 p.m. to Monday 6 a.m.
“This ban shall also apply to beaches and public parks. This is a stay-at-home weekend when the Royal Barbados Police Force shall be instructed to apprehend and prosecute all persons violating this order,” Bostic further added.
Barbados TODAY has reached out to Attorney General Dale Marshall for further details on the curfew, which requires an amendment to the current COVID-19 directive.
Late this evening, the Prime Minister’s Office served notice that AG Marshall and Commissioner of Police Tyrone Griffith would speak to the matter at a press conference at 11 a.m. on Thursday.
The curfew is the latest move by Government to help curtail the spread of COVID-19.
On Monday, Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced that the February 3 to 17, the “National Pause” would be extended by 11 days and end on February 28.
She said this was triggered by a high number of infections still being recorded even though movement had been restricted during the lockdown.
(randybennett@barbadostoday.bb)
