BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE Federation has been placed under a State of Emergency (SoE) as the number of COVID-19 cases continue to climb.
The Governor-General, Sir S.W. Tapley Seaton, last evening (June 15) signed the requisite procolomations placing St. Kitts and Nevis under the SoE, which paves the way for the Government to implement stricter measures to curb the spread of the virus.
The Federation currently has more than 150 active cases and more than 200 confirmed cases with no deaths.
According to the Government Information Service, a State of Emergency or Emergency empowered to be able to put policies that it would normally not be permitted to do in a democracy, for the safety and protection of its citizens.
“A government can declare such a state during a natural disaster, civil unrest, armed conflict, medical pandemic or epidemic or other biosecurity risks. States of Emergency can also be used as a rationale or pretext for suspending rights and freedoms guaranteed under a country’s constitution or basic law, sometimes through martial law or revoking habeas corpus,” SKNIS explained.
The State of Emergency is set to run in the first instance from 6:00 p.m. Tuesday ,, June 15, 2021, until 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, July 6, 2021.
Though many of the old orders remain, there are still some new ones, including the fact that, no person shall visit a public beach on the island of Saint Christopher, except with the written permission of the Commissioner of Police, and the suspension of all retail liquor licenses.
Additionally, some of the measures do not apply to sister isles Nevis as the SoE measure outlined Nevis separately.
Among the Nevis measures are all businesses and offices can continue business operations by allowing remote work or if its employees can practice social and physical distancing.
Additionally, the Courts (Magistrates Courts and the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court) shall remain accessible and employees are to work remotely from home; all retail liquor licenses are suspended on Nevis; a person may visit a public beach only for swimming or exercise.
All sectors of the Federation are said to be impacted by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the law enforcement, schools, banking, health and the tourism.
