By: Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Friday 18th June 2021) — With an outbreak of increasing COVID-19 cases in St. Kitts-Nevis, a State of Emergency (SOE) has been put in place to restrict the movement of citizens and residents, asking them to stay at home unless for essential work, accessing businesses authorised to operate, or for essential travel, particularly between the hours of 5:00 AM to 6:00 PM. On Tuesday 15th June, Governor General Sir Tapley Seaton made a proclamation regarding the SOE which runs for 21 days from 6:00 PM Tuesday 15th June until 11:59 PM Tuesday 6th July 2021.
The Emergency Powers COVID-19 Regulations #24 of 2021 replace the previous public health restriction of movements regulations #17 of 2021 and run from June 15th to June 26th. A nightly curfew operates from 6:00 PM to 5:00 AM daily during this period. During the curfew, every person shall remain confined to their place of residence including yard space to avoid contact outside of family, except essential workers required to report to work or for essential travel for medical emergencies.
Businesses allowed to operate on a limited basis between 5:00 AM and 6:00 PM include: bakeries, supermarkets, pharmacies, private medical facilities, banks and credit unions, approved hotels or quarantine facilities, COVID-19 approved taxi and ferry operators, gas stations, courier services, and such other businesses expressly approved by the Commissioner of Police in writing. Restaurants, bars and food trucks may only operate for delivery or takeaway. All retail liquor licences are suspended. No person shall visit a public beach except with the written permission of the Commissioner of Police.
Attorney General Vincent Byron Jr. explained the legal basis: “A State of Emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do in a democracy, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state during a natural disaster, civil unrest, armed conflict, medical pandemic or epidemic or other biosecurity risk. We here in St. Kitts and Nevis, over the past few weeks, have been faced with an outbreak of this global pandemic of COVID-19, and we have heard from our medical team that we have to get it under control.”