Bajans ‘breathing easier’ with lockdown ease

Barbadians appeared Friday to be breathing a sigh of relief that hardware, fast-food restaurants and car repair shops are to reopen on Monday after being closed for almost four weeks of the nationwide lockdown to control the COVID-19 surge.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced the phased reopening of hardware, appliance, farm and gardening, plumbing and electronic and IT stores.

Fast food restaurants are to operate curbside pickup, drive-thru, and delivery but gyms, massage parlours, salons, barbershops, and indoor and outdoor sports would remain closed, she said.

With minutes of Mottley making the announcement, Barbados TODAY’s readers began to post their comments on its Facebook page.

Javan Crysis Cook described the announcement as positive news and indicated that he would be able to go back to work and make purchases from the businesses that will reopen.

Some readers also inquired whether the COVID-19 infection rates had indeed declined to allow for the phased reopening, one reader asked about laundry businesses and another asked how mechanics could operate if car part stores have not been included.

“Oh thank you for giving us a little bit of freedom back. Thank you so much,” Volker Boehm said.

But Annwon Quick declared that lockdowns were designed to close small businesses down.

When Barbados TODAY took to the streets Friday to ask Barbadians about the latest developments, one woman who gave her name as Ria said she saw nothing wrong with the phased reopening, but indicated that she was not pleased that people were still not taking the COVID-19 pandemic as seriously as they should.

Ria said: “I wish she would shut it back down for three months again and let them suffer because they are playing the fool. Even though you give them the opportunity to go to the beach, everybody seems to want to go to the beach at the same time, which is wrong. You are playing the fool spreading this thing and then they are blaming the Prime Minister for bringing in people in the country saying it is the people who [are] bringing it in.

“Yes, there are some people bringing it in. But some people here are playing the fool. How the hell you want to keep parties and there is COVID. Go in the supermarket, buy your drink and carry it home and drink it. She can open it in pieces but she still has to monitor the situation.”

She also said she appreciated that she would be able to return to work from next week.

Cedric Morris also indicated that he hoped Barbadians follow the COVID-19 protocols to pave the way for the full reopening of the country.

“I have to go to the hardware store and to the computer store because I have some stuff that I would like to get doing on the laptop. So for those things, I am thankful that she is opening,” Morris said.

Ramona Derushe said her car was not working, and therefore, she would be headed to her mechanic Monday morning. Derushe said she agreed that businesses being opened from Monday are the ones that need to be opened first.

“And I want to get some fish because I miss eating fish. I mean I have been eating chicken and I am really tired of it,” Derushe said.

Trevor Ifill told Barbados TODAY that opening fast-food restaurants would ease the long lines at supermarkets.

He said: “A lot of people would more tend to buy fast food so that could be a blessing in disguise. But still, you got to protect yourself; you can’t let down your guard. This is a serious time. You got community spreading and if you don’t protect yourself this virus would spread and we would go back into lockdown again,” Ifill said.

Ifill said the phased reopening would also allow people who are running out of money to work and top up their resources.

(anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb)