Dominica: Lockdown & curfew imposed, all non-essential services shut as more test COVID positive

After the discovery of a recent cluster of COVID-19 on the island, the government of Dominica announced a lockdown, evening curfew followed by full day curfew on weekends. The new restrictions have been imposed for 7-days starting from August 3, and people who fail to comply with the guidelines will have to pay a $5,000 fine.Prime Minister Dr Roosevelt Skerrit announced this during his budget address at the parliament on Tuesday morning.All non-essential businesses are also ordered to remain close, while essential businesses can operate from 6:00 am to 4:00 pm. PM Said that the curfew order would remain in effect from 6:00 pm to 5:00 am daily from Tuesday, August 3, 2021, for the next seven days, while on weekends, the curfew will begin on Thursday at 5 pm continue till Monday 5 am. Full list of new guidelines

1.  A Curfew Order will be in effect from 6:00 pm to 5:00 am daily from Tuesday, August 3, 2021, for the next seven days
2. In the case of the weekend, the curfew will begin at 5:00 pm on Saturday, August 7, 2021, and will continue throughout the day on Sunday, August 8, 2021, and end on Monday August 9, 2021, at 5 am. The curfew will then resume the night of Monday, August 9, 2021, at 6 pm.
3.  All non-essential businesses are to remain closed. 
4.  Essential workers, including people: 

• Working at the ports
• Healthcare workers, 
• Banks and credit unions, 
• Hardware stores
• Telecoms and broadcasting
• Pharmacies, 
• Farmers
• Security services, 
• Utilities—the exhaustive list will be published.

        5. The hours of operation for businesses that are allowed to open are from 6:00 am to 4:00 pm         6. All businesses must ensure physical distancing measures of 6 ft apart are maintained and should control the number of customers inside of the premises to ensure no more than four customers per isle.       7. ALL Bars and nightclubs will remain closed.      8. Restaurants No dining-in (take-outs only)      9. No consumption of alcohol in public.     10. Churches and other places of Worship are to remain closed.     11. Weddings are to be limited to 5 people while funerals are to be no more than 10 individuals 12.      12. Public Transportation will be restricted to 3 individuals per row, 14. There will be no visitation to the Hospital, Prison, Infirmary or Quarantine Facility.      13. The airports and seaports will remain open The following will NOT be permitted:

•  Private parties
•  Recreational or sporting events 
•  Social events d. Meetings of fraternal societies or of clubs 
• Group tours and Loud music

PM Said that the current cluster appears to be associated with individuals who entered Dominica illegally and participated in a biker’s activity along with a ‘jam’ at a location in Pottersville, known at the LOT, on Sunday July 25, 2021.

He said that over 200 people presented themselves for testing at the Roseau Health Centre, yesterday, August 2, 2021 and 14 of the individuals tested positive to the Rapid Antigen test while the RT-PCR results are awaited.

To date there are 10 confirmed cases associated with this event plus two imported cases bringing the total number of active cases in Dominica to 12.

Based on observations, the authorities said that the the current cluster of the COVID-19 cases is quite different from previous clusters, mainly because a number of the people who have tested positive, and their contacts, are presenting with flu like symptoms making the virus more contagious.