The Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Charlene Cartwright-Robinson, along with his Excellency Governor Nigel Dakin of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board today announced — for the purposes of preventing, controlling and suppressing the spread the virus — a curfew is being imposed. Below are details:
Effective Thursday, March 26th, a curfew is hereby imposed on all persons and businesses from 8pm to 5am save for any exemptions provided.
Effective Saturday, March 28th at 5am, a curfew is imposed every day for twenty four hours, except as provided herein or as may be approved by the Governor. There are essential services that will be allowed to operate and a comprehensive list will be made available through various platforms and there will be regular updates from the Government will be made available to the public. Safety regulations and protocols will be aired over RTC for the remainder of this week.
Shelter at home
For the purposes of preventing, controlling and suppressing the spread the virus, residents are to shelter in place and shall remain confined to their place of residence (inclusive of their yard space) to avoid contact outside of their family, save for the exceptions provided.
Work Remotely
For the purposes of preventing, controlling and suppressing the spread the virus, all businesses and offices may only continue their business operations by allowing their employees to work remotely from home utilizing virtual means unless workers are permitted to work under these Regulations or are designated as essential services. These provisions are likewise extended to the Public Service.
For the purposes of preventing, controlling and suppressing the spread the virus, all establishments, institutions, businesses, offices, stores and organizations shall suspend operations save an except those designated as essential services in the Regulations and for the hours permitted.
Stricter Social Distancing Protocols
For the purposes of preventing, controlling and suppressing the spread the virus, there will be strict distancing protocols for those offering and accessing essential services.
Ban on Social Gatherings
For the purposes of preventing, controlling and suppressing the spread the virus, no person shall host or attend any social gatherings except those approved by the Governor on the advice of the Ministry of Health.
Closure of Public Beaches
For the purposes of preventing, controlling and suppressing the spread the virus, all public beaches shall remain closed.
Restriction on Visitation
For the purposes of preventing, controlling and suppressing the spread the virus, there will no visits to anyplace of quarantine, to a patient at the hospital or under residential care at a facility, the detention center or the prison.
Power of Governor
For the purposes of preventing, controlling and suppressing the spread the virus, the Governor shall have the power to requisition any building, ship, aircraft, vehicle etc with notice during this period of emergency to be used during this period. He shall like have the power to reasonably requisition management and control of any essential service.
Enforcement
For the purposes of preventing, controlling and suppressing the spread the virus and enforcement of these provisions, a Police Officer has the power to stop, detain and arrest any in violation of these Regulations.
No one shall obstruct any officer empowered under these regulations to carry out their duties.
And no person shall declare the sale or offer of sale of goods during this period of public emergency at an unconscionable price.
Ban on Returning Residents
Effective today, all returning residents are to be banned from returning to TCI for a period of 21 days. We have now agreed to take this step following our repeated appeals.
Restriction on Inter Island Travel
Effective …. All inter island travel is restricted save for those accessing essential services only.
Please note that all provisions remain under review but the 24 hour curfew shall remain in place for a period of 21 days from Saturday 5am.
