Barbadians will remain under curfew until midnight May 3, 2020, but new measures are in place for them to get essential goods.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced tonight residents and citizens will be given two days a week, by surname, where they will be allowed to shop from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The island has been under 24-hour lockdown since March 28 and that was scheduled to remain in place until the morning of April 15, part of the measures to fight the spread of COVID-19.
Last Thursday, acting Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw announced she would be addressing the nation by Saturday, but it was Mottley, still under doctors’ orders, who spoke of the changes.
In the other measures, the island’s senior citizens, who are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19, will be given two special days to shop.
School will not reopen next week as scheduled and Mottley said she has advised Bradshaw, the Minister of Education, to meet with the principals and teachers on this issue.
She told worried parents no decisions would be made as yet on the Barbados Secondary School’ Entrance Examination, and none would be made without consultation.
Arrangements will also have to be made for those who are scheduled to sit examinations administered by the Caribbean Examinations Council.
Meanwhile, Mottley said hardware stores will now operate half days, the post office will open from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. and vendors of fruits and vegetables – not oils, DVDs or clothing – will be allowed to sell at this time.
The Prime Minister also revealed a special group was in place to allow those who were laid off to get their unemployment cheques. Those cheques should be ready within the next ten days and will cover a month.
She said the full details would be given to the media after her conference.
More details to come. (SAT)
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