The Grenada government has announced that it is lifting the four-hour curfew as the island continues to “manage” the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Health Minister Nickolas Steele, speaking at the post-cabinet news conference, also announced that travelers entering the island will now have to be tested on arrival as Grenada joined the rest of the global community in expressing its own concerns about the Omicron variant of the virus.
“We are observing what is happening with Omicron and we are observing what is happening in terms of spikes or waves we are seeing in other islands. We are monitoring. As a result of the Omicron threat as well as the spikes we are seeing in the region…we made a decision to start back testing on arrival, but not quarantine.
“Individuals would be PCR tested on arrival at the Maurice Bishop International Airport (MBIA) and allowed to leave pending their results within 12 to 24 hours. So there would not be a quarantine, but there would be a testing,” Steele said adding that the measure “is like most other countries that implement this system so to have a sense of the epidemiological situation and the external threats.
“On the good side, though, based on our current situation, it is our belief and Cabinet has endorsed that the quarantine that exists from midnight to 4.00 am (local time) is to be removed with effect from today.”
Steele said the removal is as a result of the authorities believing the current epidemiological situation has improved, adding “as to how long this will remain will be based on our monitoring…it is based on other external factors.
“It is based for us as well on our social interactions and social behavior,” he said, adding that the Cabinet had agreed to lift the curfew because “we do believe that the midnight to 4.00 am curfew has been having a psychosocial effect on us all.
“As a result, the balance must always be sought and at this point in time we believe it is possible to safely remove that curfew and hopefully not have to bring it back,” Steele told reporters, adding “so it is breathing space and we do hope that this breathing space remains indefinitely…but we will adjust accordingly”.
Last month, the Grenada Parliament gave its unanimous approval for the State of Emergency to be extended until May 2022. Steele also disclosed that three students in the sister island of Carriacou tested positive for the virus.
“They are all related to the cluster that was identified from one of the inter-island ferries,” he said, adding that further testing will be done on Tuesday and “at this point in time these are contacts from the inter-island ferry.”
CMC
