St. Lucia adopts a zero-tolerance policy for people not wearing masks

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Published by BBN Staff at October 12, 2020

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Posted: Monday, October 12, 2020. 10:58 pm CST.

By BBN Staff: The Government of St Lucia has warned that authorities are taking a zero-tolerance approach to enforcing protocols aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus after the country received its 29th confirmed case.

Prime Minister Allen Chastanet said that he would be meeting with security officers today, to discuss the importance of stern enforcement of protocols.

“Beginning today, the police will have a zero-tolerance approach to enforcing protocols, especially with the wearing of a mask in public spaces. Statutory Instrument Number 152 of 2020 speaks to who is exempted from masks. Limitations in mass crowd events will continue to be enforced, and the issue of overcrowding on public buses will also be strictly enforced,” Chastanet said.

He noted that he was convinced the country’s latest cases are connected to someone who had entered the country illegally and encouraged residents to report any breach of protocols, especially with respect to illegal entries as they pose a major security risk.

The Jamaica Observer notes that the penalty for non-compliance with the regulations is (Eastern Caribbean Dollar) EC$1,000 (One EC$=US$0.37 cents) or six months in prison, or both.

In Belize, a similar emphasis is placed on the wearing of masks as a means of preventing the spread of COVID-19. Last week, both the Commissioner of Police and the Director of Health Services for the Ministry of Health reminded Belizeans that it will take a country-wide collaborative effort to control the spread of the virus, and that mask-wearing plays an integral role in those efforts.

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