Tracking bracelets, new COVID-19 regulations coming into effect

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New regulations to manage the spread of COVID-19 will come into effect this week. According to Prime Minister Gaston Browne, the changes include amendments to the Infectious Diseases Regulations that will make it mandatory for people in quarantine to wear monitoring bracelets.

“We are introducing the bracelets on Tuesday after they have gone through a period of testing. In addition on Monday we will amend the legislation to make it mandatory to wear the bracelet if one is prescribed to undergo a period of quarantine,” he disclosed.

While the bracelets are tamper-proof, the prime minister said under the new regulations anyone who damages the bracelets will be fined.

“We want to make the fine a hefty one, first to include the cost of replacement and secondly, to act as a deterrent,” he explained.

Over the past two weeks, Browne said there has been an increase in visitors to the country and with this comes the need to strengthen health protocols with the objective of managing the COVID-19 crisis.

The prime minister also expressed satisfaction with the outcome of discussions with the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) which will revise its travel advisory related to Antigua and Barbuda effective today.

He bemoaned the situation with Barbados’ COVID-19 classification of Antigua and Barbuda which remains at ‘medium risk’. This is a revision from its earlier classification of the country as ‘high risk’ early in November.

The prime minister said he is still unhappy with Barbados’ classification of Antigua and Barbuda. “We asked them to further review the medium risk classification as this is not what the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has recommended.

We recognised that Barbados has been ‘mum’ on this matter. We are concerned because it may influence others who may be seeking information about us. It’s a vexing matter and one that needs to be resolved,” PM Browne stated.

The latest information from the Mount St. John’s Medical Centre shows seven active cases, no hospitalisations, 141 confirmed positive cases with four deaths, one of which was an imported case. — PointeXpress

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61 COMMENTS

  1. This looks like a law suit in the making! The courts will have to decide on these bracelets as based on world human rights protocols, putting a bracelet or tacking devise on a person is a form of slavery. Are we going to be slaves of the government? Are the tourist that come to this island going to wear these bracelets? Is this just for the local black man who come to visit their family. Gaston Brown this is going to be your end……..you are another Trump, crazy as hell. Use the millions you going to spend on this to buy vaccines or is it one of your Syrian friends bring these bracelets as you have said the country is broke…..where you getting the millions to buy these. Shame on you….the poor black always suffer!

  2. UN Announces Biometric Digital ID Wallet

    Recently the United Nations had some big announcements that went largely unnoticed, including the rollout of a biometric digital wallet and an announcement that one of its specialized agencies, The International Civil Aviation Organization, is one step closer to a internationally recognized digital travel credential. As reported by Biometric Update: This particular UN biometric digital wallet is intended for UN employees and it can be used for data related to human resources, medical status, travel, payroll and pensions.

    I hope you see where this is going, every aspect of our lives will be centralized digitally using biometrics and in many cases the blockchain, AI and 5G. I cant help but to raise the question, what kind of social controls could this possibly provide the technocrats if people decide not to obey certain restrictions or requirements? Example: If you didn’t get your latest shot, individuals may face travel restrictions. Or, you may not be able go to work, or your payments may be frozen until you comply. They may not have to mandate anything if they can ‘encourage’ you to obey.
    https://youtu.be/4HDzQhbOgpA

  3. He said there was an “increase in visitors”, but the visitors are not the one who are forced to wear the bracelet! This is an insane policy, treating nationals like criminals and letting tourists roam around freely. One policy for all is needed

    • Visitors are bringing the disease and they don’t bother testing, quarantining it restricting those people in any way

    • I agree with ONE POLICY FOR ALL. I think that the policy should error on the side of FREEDOM.
      NOBODY should be required to wear the ‘tracking bracelet’.

      The virus isn’t particularly deadly. There are therapeutics for people who get it, so what is the ‘imagined’ justification that warrants this denial of peoples liberty?

      These people mandating such policies are dangerous megalomaniacs. If we allow them to get away with this behavior, we will soon find ourselves with chains around our necks!

      • Except this virus IS particularly dangerous. You should read accounts from frontline ER/ICU workers about what they are seeing.

        This is a new disease that has so far shown to be exceedingly well adapted to spread amongst humans.

        We should err on the side of caution. The goal should be to eliminate the virus from this population.

        And yes, there should be one policy for all people who enter this country.

        • You say that the virus is dangerous… where is your evidence?
          Isn’t the covid death count now just four in 100,000 people?
          Is THAT your idea of dangerous? There were that many deaths due to automobile accidents this year and nobody is suggesting any draconian measures over that!

          • Almost 1.5 million people have died from COVID so far in the past 8-9 months.

            Millions more are suffering long-term effects of the disease including heart disease, fibrotic lungs. Needing lung transplants and long-term care.

            Yet, you are so cavalier about a disease that the scientific community knows little about that has killed so many people and many more continue to suffer.

            You have decided that there’s an acceptable number of people who can die before we take this pandemic seriously. You are sick!!

            By the way, the mortality rate is about 3% which is 3 out of every 100 people who contract the disease not 4 out of 100,000, you nitwit.

            If Antigua has any sort of outbreak, it’s going to be an utter disaster because this island is not equipped to handle such a thing. It will destroy your economy and many lives will be lost.

            Everyone should be focused on preventing that from happening. That very real possibility that has happened and is happening all over the world.

            Log off the computer and get some mental health help.

    • That’s like counting all inventory every month, instead of just the items which are known to move quickly. These days when it comes to risk management, persons tend to quantify risk so they can provide proper focus. Its the returning nationals who pose the most risk, not tourists. If you do run into tourists (not all tourists are white, we also have many nationals who are white)as you claim, in public spaces, either they or at least you should be wearing a mask. The same is most likely not true for retuning nationals since in many cases you will have them at your home. Look at SLU, their protocols were not able to deal properly with retuning nationals because many of them came in illegally from Guadeloupe. Of course they then mix in the community , at persons home. They now have community spread. Active cases have moved there from 9 in early October to at one point over 145, its now about 125.

  4. Use logic for a second before jumping on the black or white card. If a tourist arrives and stays at a resort (which by the way funds 90% of the countries revenue and keep in mind the ‘tourist’ could be black or white) they are statistically much less likely to interact with as many people as a local person in a fixed period of time. Let’s assume a tourist comes for a 2 week vacation, they interact with hoteliers, vendors, taxis and restauranteurs as a rule of thump, perhaps more. The scale of their interaction is fairly limited, perhaps to a single parish or maybe not at all, depends how conscious they are of the virus.
    Flip the coin, when a local arrives, they are all over the island in however many parishes seeing family, friends and whoever else, employers, employees etc etc. As a local you’re arriving back you’re much more likely to interact with a tangibly larger proportion of people of varying ages and varying degrees of health (babies or grandparents etc) AND for an indefinite period of time as you actually live on the island! I don’t get why people feel so hard done by. Go to New Zealand and see what locals have to do to protect their country there! At one point you could barely leave your front porch. If Antigua didn’t need the revenue from tourism they wouldn’t have opened their borders, but they do need tourism to function so that must be accepted. Since tourism will push on, systems must be put in place to facilitate this. Granted, bracelets are like modern day shackles and I think there are better mechanisms for enforcing social distancing and quarantining but stop instantly jumping on the race card, it’s ridiculous…

    • Tourists are not wearing masks at the resorts. They can and have easily infected staff at the resorts who then go into their communities and infect their friends and family and neighbors.

      Tourists also rent cars and head to the beach, supermarkets, bars, restaurants in contact with local people and again spreading disease.

      Residents of Jolly Harbor fly in present a passport from the US or UK and they are allowed into the country without quarantining. Then they go into their communities, to restaurants, supermarkets, social gatherings and infect people.

      This is absolutely discriminatory and it makes absolutely no sense.

      The only way to stop the spread of COVID in the country is to stop letting in people with COVID.

      The only way to do that is to test people at the airport and quarantine them for 14 days and test them again.

      After that and only after that should these people (tourists or residents or nationals) get the all-clear to roam freely around the island.

  5. Curious why we can’t adjust our arrival protocols to meet stricter yet shorter self-isolation for EVERY ARRIVING PASSENGER diplomat, minister, national, resident, diaspora, caricom, business, tourist & private jet/yacht folks, like some other islands.

    ALL arriving passengers must have neg covid test (pcr or lamp) 72-hours maximum, before arriving in Antigua.
    ALL arriving passengers tested on arrival by Antiguan Health Officials.
    ALL Negative arrival test passengers MUST spend 3-nights in a specially priced licensed hotel covid secure biospace IN THEIR BEDROOMS not walking about, not in their homes or villa rentals.
    ALL arriving passengers are tested on fourth morning, at their licensed covid secure hotel space.
    If NEGATIVE passenger receives an app or email or text notification politely informing them & reminding of mask, sanitizing & distance regulations, giving them best wishes to enjoy all A&B has to offer, and a link to ABTA website
    If POSITIVE (at arrival or fourth morning) Antigua Health Officials go in person, in full PPE, to the passenger, explain, and physically transport them to the Govt. Quarantine Centre at the old Airforce Base, where they stay for up to 14-days. (Health Authority may choose to test again on day 7, if positive, remain on the base / if negative, remain on base one more night, test again next day, if still negative released)

    Surely this PROVEN system on other islands would work here and would reassure all of us & other governments through realistic testing figures so allowing TRUST in our protocols to be reestablished.

    It also gives a boost to the struggling hospitality sector (hotels, food delivery services).

    Cabinet – please be smart in your decision making to cover the upcoming festive period & beyond … It MUST be ONE RULE FOR ALL ARRIVING PASSENGERS no exceptions.

    • The problem is the people who came up with the idiotic plan of not testing or quarantining people from high COVID areas are too prideful and/or stupid to change course now.

      And why should they?

      They’ve managed to underreport COVID cases and deaths and SO FAR gotten away with it.

      Of course, an intelligent and humane person would realize that not only will this insane strategy eventually be an obvious failure to all but that a lot of people will get sick and die who would not have with sane protocols.

      • Why are you being so hysterical?
        If it were as bad as you’re painting it, there would be dead people in the streets. Are there any? NO…. because the virus isn’t very deadly!
        Why aren’t the homeless people catching it and dying? They don’t live in sanitary conditions.

        Get a grip people. You are walking with your eyes closed into a future where your every move will be restricted, monitored and controlled. Is this the Antigua you want to live in?

        WAKE UP!

        • The reason you are minimizing the danger of COVID is that you are not paying attention to what is happening all over the world The reason you are minimizing the danger of COVID is that you are not paying attention to what is happening all over the world

          And even so, I do recall over the last several months there were a dozen or more people who were found dead in the street in Antigua. One guy literally facedown in the gutter, a couple found in the bush, one guy walking himself to the hospital, etc.

          So you’re content to wait until things get really bad like they did in NY with refrigerated trucks full of dead bodies.

          I guess we should all chill out and pretend that everything is fine until we’re literally stepping over bodies in the street the way they were in Ecuador.

          We should be trying to prevent things from getting as bad as they have gotten other places instead of pretending that this new virus is not a grave threat.

          • The only dead people in NY were the ones in nursing homes whom Gov. Andrew Cuomo murdered by placing infected people in their midst.
            The virus is real, it’s the hyped up fear that is FAKE.

        • does not lead to a future where every move will be restricted and controlled.

          Sounds like you are the one who is hysterical.

          But I don’t think you’ll get it until you or someone you’re close to contracts this deadly virus.

          A deadly virus which is killing people within days or weeks or contracting it.

          Other people have had months’ long symptoms and never recover.

          It kills people with comorbidities and healthy people.

          • How much is the government paying you wumao?
            Keep spouting those lies so the people can see you for what you are!

  6. …nothing! As in, #No # Thing!
    …’tis, the only THING;
    …that, happens by mistake!
    …all others, are by;
    …#Design!
    …#Default!
    …#Destiny!

    A couple of things…

    1…COVID-19 #Plan? #Pan? #Epi? DEMIC is, is a crime being committed, upon HUE-manity, not the virus. This virus has being weaponized, and phuck who suffers the consequences.

    2…just like all crimes, which are controlled, by any and all means necessary, from wars to health to freedom(s), this weapon has given the purported first World Nations, the ability to attack other nations, inflict harm, and not be held accountable or responsible. Think of this war on HUE-MANITY, as a nuclear war, with the exception being the weapon is a virus.

    3…Wars make Money! Wars make money! Wars make money!
    Wars help to introduce, and implement ‘Laws of all kinds…,’ under the guise, of protecting the People.

    4…these times, parallel the 1900’s to the 1930’s. No phucking if’s, and’s, nor but’s.
    Conglomerates like the Rockefeller Foundation($), and their subsidiaries from that same period, could not have written, a more accurate Business Plan, with a #Mission Statement, that is still being carried out today, COVID-19 aka 2020.

    5…the telling difference, with this War is that, there are more Nations today with the ability, to develop these types of WEAPONS, and ways to mitigate the damages which may be inflicted upon them. Again, lest we forget, loosing 1 MILLION PEOPLE, in, to, by wars are peanuts(not the Charlie Brown cartoon kind), but real live HUE-mans, to those OLIGARCHS, PLUTOCRATS, GLOBALIST, that have being waging wars on HUE-manity for centuries.

    Brace yourselves folks! The pot is gonna get hotter, before they’re satisfied, that they have just enough control over, US as HUE-MANS, to prod us in which ever direction(s) they choose.

    Gaston Brown and his administration, like many others in the Caribbean, South America, Africa and Europe have to comply, with those that control their #PUPPET STRINGS, to play in their game.

    Everywhere is War! Rumors of wars!
    The #WeaponsOfChoice have changed from a wooden club, to a sling n stone, to bow n arrow, to gunpowder, to nuclear to lazer, to #VIRUSES…

      • @Trapgrammar…..#PoeticLicence, and #FreedomOfDoing, as in, an Artist creates, and the #Classics could give “Won Ton,” of phuck(read the phonics, or might be a bird 2 U), wat U tink, even though, “it, tink to rass!”

  7. WE HAVE TO BE RIGHT WITH THE VIRUS 100 PERCENT THE VIRUS ONLY HAS TO BE RIGHT ONE TIME ! Faced with our own mortality we're playing favorites WE HAVE TO BE RIGHT WITH THE VIRUS 100 PERCENT THE VIRUS ONLY HAS TO BE RIGHT ONE TIME ! Faced with our own mortality we're playing favorites

    “Stay Alert ” you got it down to a science . Their little brains are repeating the Government talking points of limited contact with white folks . Even after slavery we still conscious or subconsciously think they’re better than us .THERE’S NOTHING LIMITED ABOUT THE VIRUS ALL IT TAKES IS ONE . This protocol is fools gold.

  8. 186 years after slavery was abolished by the British parliament, the ALP will try to enslave pickey head smaddy again. Antigua people ar’u vote fu dat! Call the election now!

  9. “CONCERNED CITIZEN” only PATHETIC worm on here is you . ILLITERATE scum why don’t you go back to gutter you crawled out of .

      • YOU go crawl back under your rock. You’re a lying government shill spreading propaganda and the people are no longer listening to your BS.
        Your fear mongering is only causing people to go out and find the truth for themselves. You and your cronies days are numbered and you now know it. I can feel your PANIC.

  10. Those are some of the most idiotic names and statements.I have ever read on this medium.Insults would not get you so called black people anywhere.
    I THINK THE ADMINISTRATION SHOULD CHIPPED ALL OF YOU .LIKE I DO MY PETS.AT LEAST THEY COULD KNOW.WHERE YOU ARE AT ALL OF THE TIMES.LOL

  11. Why is it that the death rate is higher in America than the rest of the countries?People need to think stop being fearful and observe what is happening around them and dont get sucked in. All the world leaders hit head

    • Covid deaths in America are only 6% of what CDC reports. 94% have comorbidities that were the true cause of death. CDC admitted this fact.
      The numbers you’re hearing from lame stream FAKE media are hugely over inflated.

      • You just get more wrong with each post.

        The comorbidities were not the true cause of death or they would be listed as the cause of death.

        If I have diabetes and get hit by a car and die, I still died from being hit by a car.

        If someone shoots me and I have hypertension, the shooter is still the cause of my death and he still goes to jail.

        You should stay off the internet and read a book or something.

        • The only thing greater than your ignorance is your overblown sense of being correct. I guess you didn’t read the article about the guy in Florida who was killed in a motorcycle accident… his death was listed as covid. There were THOUSANDS of stories just like this. This was all a con on the people so the global elite could institute the GREAT RESET and take control of the world. Oh, you probably don’t know about that do you… you think you’re so freaking smart… you’re a dumbass!

  12. @You are not paying attention
    You sources are all left wing progressive socialist news. Try to widen your input, your listening to FAKE NEWS. You probably still believe the Biden fairly won the US election don’t you.

    @Are you insane?
    RE: “Almost 1.5 million people have died from COVID so far in the past 8-9 months.”
    Death from all causes have remained flat. What happened is deaths from other causes were wrongly called covid deaths. Total number of annual deaths from all causes: 7,405,122,224

    RE: “the mortality rate is about 3% which is 3 out of every 100 people who contract the disease not 4 out of 100,000, you nitwit.”
    The death rate isn’t 3%. It is .02% or a survival rate of 99.8%
    The 4 out of 100,00 number are the ACTUAL mortality numbers for Antigua, you nitwit!

    RE: “will destroy [your] economy and many lives will be lost.”
    You’re not from Antigua are you. You are a Chinese troll aren’t you! Go away WUMAO !

    RE: “Log off the computer and get some mental health help.”
    You STOP spreading your FEAR PORN. IT IS ALL FAKE!
    Your the one who needs mental health help, you psychopathic control freak!
    We the people are no longer listening to your LIES.

  13. “ The death rate isn’t 3%. It is .02% or a survival rate of 99.8%
    The 4 out of 100,00 number are the ACTUAL mortality numbers for Antigua, you nitwit!”

    Nobody believes the numbers Antigua has put out.

    But even using Antigua’s numbers the case fatality rate is 4/141 = 2.83% or 2.83 people per 100.

    Dividing how many people supposedly died of COVID by the population of Antigua does not give the mortality rate or case fatality rate. It, in fact, tells us nothing.

    I can’t even with your stupidity at this point

    • I wasn’t using fatality rates… I was stating a fact.
      Antigua has a population of about 100,000 people. Four people in Antigua have died allegedly of covid.
      YOU are the one trying to confuse people with your fancy footwork and ratio spouting jargon.
      Your the stupid one if you think we can’t see through your BS.

      • It tells us nothing about how deadly the virus is because presumably they vast majority of people in Antigua have not been exposed to the virus yet.

        The only meaningful ratio is deaths from COVID to total number of people infected with COVID.

        🤡

  15. @It’s the comma cop… pause, take, a, couple, of, deep, throat, breathe, be, sure, to, exhale, be, 4, U, have, a, seat, here 🔜🌵🌵, before, you, take, each, comma,,,,,, for a, Mr. Dick, just, arrived, in, town, and shove the Phuckers, hook first!

  16. The use of bracelet becomes legal when you sit down allow and do nothing, sometimes you have to fight against certain laws for changes and freedom.

    They playing chess to see how we respond and if you do or say nothing, nothing happens in your favour.

    Social distance but people sit close in the bus

    Holidays no beach then you could go now from 5:00am to 1:00 pm

    Curfew from 5:00am to 11:00pm on Old years night extended to 1:00 am

    Some people are too fearful to think, they accept every law that is passed thinking about safety but they dont see the control side.

    The risk in this country could be lowest in the world, the leaders will state there is no community spread they will still try to add rules and suppress its citizens.

    Tourist come into our shores from high risk countries but still there protocols are risky with their testing whether you believe tourist pose a bigger risk than returning nationals it is debatable.

    I find there has been alot of division since this covid come on screen we have the believers and non believers ,for any changes to take place it must be unity and honesty.

    • If the people running things rotors screen people appropriately (quarantine and test all) in the airport and arriving on ship

  17. This Concerned Àntiguan is a real DOUCHE BAG ! He insults and comments 20 times on one topic .

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