Supermarkets, minimarts and village shops to open on Sundays

Barbadians will once again be able to do their shopping on Sundays as Government gave the green light for supermarkets, minimarts and village shops to be allowed to reopen on Sundays.

Speaking during a COVID-19 press conference today, Minister of Home Affairs, Information and Public Affairs, Wilfred Abrahams also announced that auto marts will resume full service on Sundays, while spectatorless sports will be allowed to resume.

He also indicated that once permission is granted by the COVID-19 Monitoring Unit, competitive sports, including horse racing can resume.

Abrahams said that while Directive (10) will expire next Monday, June 7, the changes he announced will be included in the new directive, which comes into effect on Tuesday, June 8 and will end on June 29.

Abrahams explained: “Spectatorless sports are fully allowed to go on, subject to COVID protocols. So these are sports if persons are playing football in a village, you can practise, you can train, you can fully go back onto your sports once you obey and observe protocols. Horseracing did give us some pause, because of the nature of horseracing and because of our perception of what happens at the Garrison.

“When we think of horseracing we think of a ton of people on the infield, people in the grandstand, persons running leading in the horses, and it’s a whole picnic and festive atmosphere and that’s what horseracing is associated within Barbados. The horseracing fraternity in this instance was exceedingly proactive.

“We as a COVID committee, we had looked at what protocols we would require to accommodate the different sports. The protocols would not be the same, or the requirements for each sport would not be the same, but it is based on the nature and perception of the sport”.

The Minister said the horseracing fraternity put forward a comprehensive proposal to be allowed to reopen, that went over and above what the Government COVID-19 Sub Committee contemplated.

“So for example, if given permission, only persons connected with the horses racing on that day will be able to attend. So you might be a horse owner, but if your horse is not racing on that particular day then you would not be in attendance at the Garrison.

“So based on the proposals that they put and the numbers that was estimated, we are comfortable that the proposals by the horse racing fraternity are no less strict than what obtains right now on a non-racing day and that is why horse racing has been included. Horse racing, for now, will be spectatorless,” he further explained.

The Minister of Home Affairs also indicated that there are still uncertainties regarding whether there will be a 2021 Crop Over. (AH)