St Kitts and Nevis imposes night curfew from 6 PM to 5 AM till June 26

Basseterre: In its efforts to stem the spread of COVID-19 disease within the Federation, the government of St Kitts and Nevis made the difficult but necessary decision to place the country under further restrictions from Saturday, June 12, from 6 pm to 5 am for fourteen (14) days to Saturday, June 26 in the first place.

The government emphasized that there is no 24-hour lockdown or a total lockdown in the federation.

"After a thorough evaluation of the situation on the ground, the cabinet agreed that we should restrict the movement of people to limit the spread of the virus. We will therefore place the country under lockdown on Saturday 12 June from 18:00 for fourteen (14) days until Saturday 26 June. Under this lockdown, the cabinet decided that people should stay home for the next two weeks. There will be a daily curfew from 6:00 pm to 05:00 am," said Prime Minister Timothy Harris in a televised speech to the country on June 11. Prime Minister Harris stated that this measure would break the transmission cycle of the virus, which would reduce the number of cases and also give health workers and contact detectives time to get ahead and control its spread. "Our main priority in this fight against COVID-19 is and has always been to keep our people safe and we will do what is necessary to protect our people. Fortunately, 61 of these cases have been fully recovered, while 94 remain active, 4 of whom have been admitted to hospital, one of whom is very ill. We listened intently to the health workers and guided them through science. That is why we took difficult measures early on to prevent the virus,” said Dr Harris added.

The Government has also introduced a number of additional measures to limit the spread of COVID-19.

With effect from Saturday 12 June, all essential businesses and offices may continue their business activities by allowing their employees to work remotely from their homes utilizing virtual means, unless those employees may work under a special exemption or be designated as essential workers; all gaming establishments will be closed; there will be absolutely no mass opportunities; beaches should only be used during this period for exercise; in the first place, there will be no street sales for the next 14 days. Sales are only allowed on the public market with controlled spaces where strict compliance with COVID-19 protocols must be adhered to. In addition, there will be no personal dining at restaurants and pubs, but takeaway and delivery will be allowed and the ferry service operations will be subject to increased restrictions to curtail non-essential travel between the islands.

Prime Minister Harris further noted that security officials in their numbers will no longer apply protocol regarding social distance and wearing masks. Persons who do not comply with these protocols will be penalized.