More lockdown rules fall as infection rates fall

Prime Minister Mia Mottley on Thursday announced further ease in coronavirus restrictions that will take effect on Tuesday amid falling infection rates.

Churchgoers are to be allowed to sit three feet apart, instead of six feet, a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister said.

Lodges, private or social clubs, civic associations and political organisations are to be allowed to resume meetings but under strict rules.

The statement said the meetings will be allowed “provided that the protocols of mask-wearing, sanitization and physical distancing are strictly followed and that the maximum number of persons who may attend, regardless of the capacity of the meeting place is limited to 100 persons unless special exemption is granted”.

But a wide array of social activities – parties, banquets, dances, bus craws, limes, karaoke, picnics or excursions – all remain banned.

However,  movie-going is to resume, as the island’s lone drive-in cinema and cinemas “may open every day subject to the existing agreed protocols”, the PM’s office said.

In addition, photographers and videographers will be allowed to operate every day, it added.

The new directive is to run from Tuesday until June 7.

The statement noted that while the positivity rate is currently less than one per cent, the COVID-19 remains “a real and enduring” concern.

“We must keep our guard up and follow all of the health protocols including the wearing of masks, frequent washing of hands and sanitizing and physical distancing,” it said.

The latest COVID-19 data show that two women tested positive on Wednesday, from 520 tests conducted by the Best-dos Santos Public Health Laboratory.

Another 29 people recovered from the virus and were discharged. There are now 90 people in isolation.

There was one death this week – the 46th – from 3,959 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the first case was diagnosed in March, last year. There have been 3,908 recoveries.

The number of COVID-19 vaccinations delivered under the national inoculation campaign is 75,724. From that number, 38,919 people have been fully vaccinated, receiving their second dose of the Oxford AstraZeneca/COVAShield jab during the campaign’s second phase. 
(BT)