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New restrictions on public gatherings and business operations |31 March 2020

In the effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the community, new restrictions on mass gatherings and business operations are now in place.

These new regulations are part of the Public Health (Infectious Disease) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 and they are in line with several announcements made by President Danny Faure last Friday regarding new measures and steps to be taken by the authority to prevent the leakage and spread of the COVID-19 into the local community.

As of yesterday, public gatherings, excluding household members, have been reduced to a maximum of four people, while all retail outlets around the country should cease all their daily operations at 6.30pm.

As for the food outlets, their operation time limit is 8pm.

In exercise of the powers conferred by section 64 and section 65 of the Public Health Act, 2015, the President being the Minister responsible for Health announced the following regulations as part of the essential strategies to limit the spread of COVID-19:

Section 13A.1 of the amended regulations stated that “ Where a public health emergency or the incidence of infectious disease renders it necessary or expedient to restrict or prohibit the movement of persons outdoors during any specified hours within Seychelles or within any specified area, the Commissioner may make an order restricting, prohibiting or controlling the movement outdoors of any person or class of persons or the transport of persons within Seychelles or within such area and during such hours as may be specified in the order”

As for Section 13A.1, it states that “The Commissioner of Police may in consultation with the Commissioner, on such terms and conditions as the Commissioner of Police may impose, issue a permit to a person or class of persons to be outdoors for the sole purpose of leaving his or her place of residence to his or her place of work, and leaving his or her place of work to his or her place of residence”

To familiarise members of the public with the new regulations, Attorney General Frank Ally, along with deputy commissioners of police (DCP) Ted Barbé and Romano Songor, hosted a live press conference yesterday at the International Conference Centre Seychelles (ICCS), stressing on the importance of such measures, as well as the consequences awaiting non-abiding citizens.

Mr Ally explained that the restriction does not apply to ‘essential’ gatherings, including going to work, shopping for essential supplies, attending medical appointments, bank transactions and also the use of public transport.

The Attorney General further explained that these measures are aimed at preventing gatherings due to the existing Public Health Emergency which was announced on Friday March 20.

He noted that measures have to be taken to protect everyone as it is not business as usual for the country, while it is also a step to manage the current situation.

On behalf of the Seychelles Police Force, ACP Barbé explained that since the announcement of the presence of the COVID-19 in the country, the force has made several internal amendments, including setting up rapid response teams to deal with the situation.

He added that while they have enough manpower to handle the situation, there is still a small portion of the community who are not abiding by the new regulations.

This, ACP Barbé said, include large crowd on different beaches around the island, as well as the St Anne Jetty.

He noted that the Police Force has been lenient enough in their approach to disperse illegal gatherings and that from now on, necessary actions will be taken against those who are still not abiding by the rules.

APC Barbé further noted that they are aware of the common spots where people gather and that they will intensify patrols and police presence in those areas.

On his part, ACP Songor noted that there are about 100 active officers daily on the field, including the quick response, elite and traffic sections.

He however added that it is also the responsibility of each and every individual to play their role to ease the life of both parties, while maintaining a friendly and calm environment during the difficult situation.

Any person who fails to comply with the regulations, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding R20,000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or to both.

Meanwhile, the department is still urging members of the public to be responsible by observing the different protocols in place.

Gatherings and events can be a very good environment for infectious diseases like COVID-19 to spread because people often behave in ways that facilitate transmission.

This includes sharing food or drinks, sitting or standing very close together for long periods of time and coughing on each other.

One of the most recommended measures is to minimise all unnecessary contact, keeping 1 metre away from others.

 

Roland Duval

 (Editor’s note: This is an archive picture being used solely for illustration purposes. It is not meant to suggest that the people in it are flouting the laws in place to contain the coronavirus)

 

 

 

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