Health officials in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are currently exploring the option of fitting electronic bracelets on persons who will be placed in quarantine due to COVID-19.
This was revealed by Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves, who was speaking on the state-owned NBC radio on the weekend.
“… I know the Ministry of Health is checking it out, the matter had come up before for the high-risk travellers to procure an electronic bracelet so that you do five days and then they put the electronic bracelet on you,” the Prime Minister said.
“But the question always is how do you manage it, how do you track it,” he said, adding that health officials were in conversations with the police to see whether the monitoring can be done via its video surveillance systems.
Last week, the Ministry of Health spent several days, with help from the police and the public, in trying to track down a visitor from the United Kingdom, who allegedly breached his quarantine. The prime minister said that electronic tracking has been done in some places but had not been as effective as it should be.
“We have to explore every possible tool,” the Prime Minister added.
Gonsalves’ made the comments as health officials rolled out a revised protocol requiring travellers from high-risk countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and some Caribbean nations, to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days.
The protocol, which will be revised on January 6, doubled the number of days that travellers were previously required to stay in a hotel – at their own expense.
“Obviously, if you have to pay US$10, 12, 15 for a bracelet if you are a high-risk traveller and you’re assessed that you should have one, it is better than spending another five days inside a hotel after having done the first five days,” he said.
“… we have had a few people who have not been as responsible, thinking that when they finish the five days and the further nine days that you can just go about as per normal. That’s not the rule. That’s not the protocol. That is why when I did my quarantine I did my 14 days,” Gonsalves said.
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Wait no one is going to comment on this when people in Antigua screaming SLAVERY? I say if they don’t want to wear it, then park their asses in the state run quarantine facility. If you’re a visitor/non national/non resident, then don’t let the door hit you on your ass as we escort you back to the plane you just came off.
OH WOW you really said that, do you even know what’s going . If it’s just for visiting nationals or resident nationals then it can be argued as discriminatory . It’s more the unequal application of the bracelet when Covid doesn’t care who comes from where and who doesn’t something that you should support because that’s playing CATCH ME IF YOU CAN with you and your love ones life !
How can it be discriminatory? St Vincent is a sovereign country and can impose what rules they want. I think in these times it it necessary. I am sure that if the US, UK or Canada for example imposes that rule that we either won’t go or happily comply. It’s simple….don’t want to wear it then head to the quarantine centre either national/resident or visitor.
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