BASSETERRE, St.Kitts (Friday 21st May 2021)-Individuals who use public transportation are being strongly advised to pay attention to the provisions of the COVID-19 Prevention and Control Act.

An appeal was made by the police representative on the National COVID-19 Task Force Superintendent Cromwell Henry when he spoke at an emergency session of the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) COVID-19 Daily Briefing on Wednesday 19th May 2021 which saw the announcement of the cancellation of all approved events due to a recorded case of COVID-19 involving an individual without overseas travel history.

“Persons using public transportation are particularly vulnerable to the spread of the virus due to the close seating arrangements of these vehicles. You are therefore strongly advised to the provisions of COVID-19 Prevention and Control Act which require the driver  and all passengers to wear masks for the duration of the journey and maintain open windows if weather conditions permit,” he stated.

“Further, passengers entering these vehicles should be hand sanitized upon entry and the seats and other high touched surfaces of the vehicles should be sanitized before and after each trip.”It was also outlined that the Ministry of Health is involved in a comprehensive contact tracing exercise to identify possible contacts of the latest COVID-19 case.

“These contacts will be placed in quarantine in an effort to contain or prevent the spread of the virus. We solicit the full cooperation of the public in this exercise.”
Superintendent Henry said the police and defense forces are mandated to provide support to the Ministry of Health “and we stand by ready to ensure that they’re allowed to discharge their responsibility in the interest of public health.”

Additionally, he said the COVID-19 Compliance Team will be stepping up their compliance enforcement activities to ensure that public health measures are complied with  especially at business establishments and other public spaces.
“We again call for calm as we go through this period and urge your full support and cooperation with the public health and law enforcement authorities,” he noted.

As it relates to the cancellation of all approved events, Superintendent Henry told that: “In light of the announcement by the Chief Medical Officer [Dr. Hazel Laws] and acting in the advice of the National COVID-19 Task Force, the Commissioner of Police has directed that effective immediately, all approved events are cancelled until further notice.”

Persons with approvals were expected to receive an email shortly reflecting this withdrawal of their permission following the announcement.
Members of the public have been asked to note also that spectators will not be allowed in stadiums at sporting games as was previously announced.

Furthermore, all persons are advised to adhere to all the non-pharmaceutical COVID-19 prevention measures as stipulated in the COVID-19 Prevention and Control Act.
Such measures include wearing face masks in public, maintaining a physical distance of six feet, good hand hygiene practices and avoiding crowds and crowded places.