Trinidad and Tobago announces additional health restrictions till May 23

Trinidad and Tobago: In light of rising COVID-19 cases, Trinidad and Tobago government announced additional health restrictions to curb the virus spread till 23 May 2021. All non-essential workers will have to work from home. All business including shops which are open now will be closed at 8 PM. The government also announced to further reduce the public transportation capacity from 75% occupancy to 50%, which means a bus with 50 seats can travel with only 25 persons aboard. Similarly, wearing masks will remain the first priority in public places, including public transports. Read More

Public gatherings during a funeral or any other event are now limited to no more than 5 persons. Any violation will lead to police action. Businesses that come under essential services will remain operations with 50% employment; they can be rotational with whole staff working in different day shifts.

Domestic workers and gardeners are to remain at home unless designated as ‘Live In’. Even where operations are designated as essential, it is expected that non-essential personnel will be allowed to work from home. This means it is recommended that any person holding accounts offices or can handle any sort of work while staying at home should work from home.

Membership clubs, including PriceMart, will be allowed to remain open for business for the sale of grocery items online. Auto repair garages will operate on an emergency basis only.

The government announced that all restaurants in the country are to remain closed and are to refrain from operating any informal delivery services. All construction services are to be halted; the government clarified that any sort of construction work in Trinidad and Tobago is banned until 23 May, 2021.

Further, the new notification on restrictions outlined that only emergency services will be allowed for dentistry, ophthalmology etc. Outdoor exercise is allowed but not in groups, and persons are to wear their masks during exercise.

The new guidelines come as Trinidad and Tobago is witnessing a spike in COVID-19 cases in the country. TT reported 324 fresh COVID-19 cases and 5 deaths in the last 24 hours, totalling 12,720 COVID-19 cases.