Prime Minister Gaston Browne is putting the nation on notice that stricter measures including extending curfew hours are likely to be announced this week.
Browne said this is in direct response to residents disregarding COVID-19 protocols.
“We hoped to see a reduction in the number of active COVID cases as a result of the measures we would have taken in the last two weeks but unfortunately the active COVID cases continue to increase rapidly, literally exceeding the recoveries.
“The increase in COVID cases is obviously due to the negligence and complacency of our people. It is due to people not being compliant with the protocols and we are fully aware that individuals continue to have private parties. Even in public we have seen many of them violating the protocols and the laws and regulations of the country,” he said.
No other solution but to have rapid vaccination
“The steep rise in the COVID cases mean that we have to increase our vigilance and vaccinate our people rapidly. There is no other solution but to have rapid vaccination. We have to do something about that. We cannot have the situation where people continue to violate the laws and protocols with impunity. It means therefore we have absolutely no choice now but to step up further on the enforcement of the protocols, laws and regulations.
“We have to at a minimum reduce the transmission of COVID,” he added.
Introducing new measures
“This may called for introducing new measures. We may have to for example expand the curfew hours and to reduce the public gatherings to maybe 10 individuals with the exception of churches. We want to maintain the maximum 25 for churches.
“I can tell you that I have had discussions with the Health Minister and others and it is very likely that early in the coming week that he will introduce new curfew measures.
“We will expand the curfew hours and we will also reduce the number of individuals who can gather in public,” he warned.
According to the prime minister, these measures are designed to reduce the amount of socialization and to reduce the transmission of COVID.
Buses and public market
“We would have to do a new layout (for the market) to ensure that we do not have the crowding that would have taken place over the last several months. Even the buses we are told that they continue to violate and are carrying more than the prescribed number of individuals. We will continue to beef up the monitoring of those buses to make sure they do not violate the protocols, which now calls for them to carry reduced numbers,” he said.
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Blame the victims to distract from your own government’s appalling failure to deal with the pandemic. Too recap the government’s approach: open the borders to tourists from covid hotspots because of bribes and pressure from corporate interests; allow tourists to roam feely over the island when they come here because otherwise they won’t come; penalize nationals by making them wear a shackle; save yourself by secretly getting the Moderna vaccine from a corporate sponsor (and how many of cabinet also got it?) and only revealing you’d done so when you realized questions would be asked about why you weren’t publicly taking the astra zenaca vaccine when it arrives; when the obvious happens and the island covid numbers start to spin out of control, double down on blaming the victims but refuse to take any action, such as a lockdown, which could actually stop the covid surge. I’m just sorry for all the severely ill and deaths we will see in coming weeks. We know who is to blame.
The island needs to be locked down with borders closed for at least 2 weeks.
The longer they fail to do the right thing, the more people will die and suffer
Short sighted solution to a long term problem. Covid only transmit during certain hours! What an inept idea coming out so called educated and experienced government. A first former can come up with a better plan. Close the borders for 21 days. No movement of people except for essential workers, firefighters, police, nurses, doctors, military personnel, medical emergencies. In other words lock down the country.
Notice I didn’t include cabinet. They can meet by zoom. They already have been there done that.
Vaccinate the frontline and essential workers who elect to take the available vaccine. Interesting point made that the individual that took the moderna vaccine announce he took it three weeks earlier because he knew full damn well he would have to roll up his sleeve and show the nation that he’s taking the Oxford-AstraZeneca. He wanted no part in that!
Just some ideas. I’m sure some will find a reason not to close the borders or go into a lockdown. New Zealand much larger in population and size went into another lockdown. That’s leadership. Making tough decisions that will be unpopular but will benefit the society as a whole.
hahaha,,reducing the curfew…the worst thing to do!!!!
So instead of having people taking their time, everybody is going to rush at the same place at the same time, like during the first lockdown!!!
Just like in Europe, not allowing too many people in the supermarkets, but everybody packed in the subway!!!
Please use your brain for once!
That goes to show that. Covid spread regardless of the stupid curfew put in place. Most of it is spread at our various jobs.
oh yes
The curfew at this time is 8:00 pm-5:00 am.What would be the new hours? The hours are not the issue.It is the Protocols in place.There should be a limited amount of customers in all businesses at a time.Someone should be monitoring the entrances and exits.Are you going to change the start time to 6:00 pm.
And the fact that they never turned off the spigot of diseased tourists entering the country without any restriction on their movements
This is sounding so dumb…even if private parties are still taking place isn’t it before the 8 oclock hr? All the rapid spread is during active hustle and bustle of business as usual not on the still streets after 8pm. Yall stop trying to lay pointless blame on people for your stupidity and ignorance of following and fitting into the WHO control of seeking to drive vax een…inna people. Total BS. Let the numbers rack up so allyo can get more aid man go ahead. God nar sleep!
What allyou need to worry bout is sorting out the oxygen plant and stock going to lics…allyo need it now more than ever. Sick and fed up man.
Gaston has to be the biggest dunce I have ever seen…….long curfew hours makes no sense…..look at the science……not those other followers in the Health……they overreact to everything…….look at Florida to California big lock down in California cases rising and rising……Florida the cases are going down……when will these idiots learn that lock down doesn’t work! Tried of this government and their stupid rules. Lovell leading Gaston in to his trap…calling for a lock down!
You people need to voice your opinion without disrespect. Who really knows what is needed… protocols, lockdown, hand wash, masks, social distancing…and people are still getting sick and dying…. clearly no one really has the answer… before we make these toxic, hateful disrespectful remarks maybe we should go pray and ask God for solutions.
It’s obvious that inviting in thousands of people from diseased areas and putting no restrictions on them whatsoever is a terrible flipping idea
No testing. No quarantining.
Having an island overrun with disease is the result.
And yes we do know what to do. Look at the countries where things are working – Australia, New Zealand,
And countries who left their borders wide open and its not working – Antigua, US, Mexico, Brazil
Do the things that the places where things are going well are doing.
Don’t keep doing that things that led to the current disaster.
Pretty gosh darned simple.
Close the borders for 2 weeks to 1 month
Lockdown for 2 weeks to 1 month
When you reopen test and quarantine EVERYONE at the border.
I dont leave my house .just to go super market once a week or so .and these animals having party ..i see my neighbour have one big party for a one year old ..people acting like they dont have sense…but look gaston fully well know whay his goverment up too …they have this covid increasing so they can scare people in the mean while behind lock doors the pope and W.H.O and all others setting up a one world order, a cashless society and then boom sunday Law…the willfully scaring people with this covid to have their agenda accomplish..but I am a child of the most high and i am not taking them vaccine ..i put my trust in my benevolent God ..so gaston can go to hell
Still no mention not a word or change to the tourists protocols AMAZING !
Blame people for getting sick
Blame people for dying
Every cases of Covid-19 in Antigua is due to the present government’s negligent, discriminatory, nonsensical and downright pathetic pandemic response.
EVERY SINGLE CASE. Every single sickness. Every single death.
The responsibility is on the clown PM and his government who made a calculated decision early on to put the wants of resort owners over protecting your lives.
And now when things are completely out of control as everyone paying attention predicted for months would happen if they kept letting in people from high disease areas with no restrictions, this useless PM blame the people whose lives he endangered.
Shameful.
Runs and gets himself vaccinated while his country is burning down due entirely to his greed, his negligence, his corruption, his incompetence.
Still no mention not a word or change to the tourists protocols AMAZING !
First you close the widows and door to stop them from coming in.
CLOSE THE BORDERS
Then you deal with the mosquitos (virus) already inside.
Treat the sick and give prophylaxis to everyone else.
Stop the game playing. Take responsibility for your failed pandemic response Gaston.
Stop blaming the people who are the victims of your negligence and incompetence.
Gaston,Gaston,Gaston,you are running out of ideas.You have gone to the well(your brain) and the bottom dropped out, nothing there.You have the biggest mouth.You know it all.Yet you cannot take control of leading the country out of this spiral it is in.Always blaming the people for everything.Give up,throw in the towel,walk away. Resigned,now. You could not managed a Bagel Shop.
With the wide open borders and only restrictions on citizens not visitors
The blaming of the citizens for his mistakes is almost too much to take.
How many people are going to lose loved ones because Sandals wanted to maximize their profit during a pandemic?
But you’re right, awful decisions were made. It’s the 11th hour, things will get much worse very quickly.
He needs to resign or admit his mistakes and change course immediately.
Doubling down on blaming citizens while leaving the borders wide open to diseased tourists has not worked yet and will never work.
The bad one does nobody tolerate wants to tolerate, why you all want to accept worse?
The problem starts from the top when the head is sick the whole body is affected, it need to be an serious uprooting these wicked people need to be uprooted once and for all they dont serve any purpose for the good of the people
You allowed people to travel to our shores and keep blaming the locals, always faultless in decision making, quick to call out but dont liked to be called out .
What a self righteous individual!
LOCK DOWN AND CLOSE DOWN THE BORDERS! TOO MANY TOURISTS RUNNING AROUND! PROTECT YOUR PEOPLE! NOT YOUR POCKETS!
And fireworks tonight at 9 at Jumby Bay!!!!???
You need a permit for that right?
Those people are white and rich and nonAntiguan
In other words, those are the folks Gaston serves.
Hid cases.
Undertested.
Hid deaths.
Kept the borders wide open with no rules for visitors from high COVID areas.
Had one flight with 20 positive tourists months ago.
But that never happened again because they decided to stop testing tourists.
But you better believe there were flights coming in every day of every week for almost a year with 20 or more COVID positive tourists.
Spreading disease around the island
But genius Gaston figured if we don’t test tourists then we can pretend that we don’t know that they are infecting the whole darned island
Now here we are at the point that many of us predicted. They are still undertesting but disease is so very thick in Antigua that every batch of tests has positive cases.
He’ll keep blaming the public.
But we all know there’s one man to blame – Greedy, amoral Gaston Browne
Shame on him and shame on everyone who works for him that has not blown the whistle.
@ LIED. Well expressed.
Resign! Not he! He thinks he’s entitled to the position. Only two things can move him off that thrown. A successful VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE TO CONTINUE as Prime Minister. Which I’m calling for. Or he call the election in 2022 and is defeated at the polls. What a day that would be. It would be euphoric. Remember the first UPP victory. The same feelings will be felt through the country and the wider Caribbean.
SHUT-UP.
Mr. So-called leader, your vitriol, disrespect, blame-game, put-people-under-the-bus, partisan divisiveness, narcissistic ‘opinions’ are no longer required, wanted or helpful.
Until there is specific information the government is giving as a directive to we the people, please refrain from making any noise.
We the people are hurting, afraid and need calm, level-headed, intelligent collaborative leadership.
You and the cabinet sycophants (FYI Parliamentarians browne-nosing last week was vomit inducing here & regionally) have proven incapable of delivering such leadership in a global crisis.
The UPP are similarly ill-equipped.
Covid is about change and I hope with all my being a new governance can come from this opportunity. People of any color, creed, persuasion that are under 40, intelligent, caring, want to see our fair land move into this century, want to see all people treated respectfully, will campaign together not as different color t-shirts, and work with all the people in A&B, to build respect, fairness, transparency & equal freedoms for all.
Gaston need to learn a thing or two from New Zealand
Vote out the dictator and traitor Gaston.
Where are Nigel Christian’s murderers?
Where are Nigel Christian’s murderers?
Where are Nigel Christian’s murderers?
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