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by pltm
(PLTM) - The Government has extended the 24hr lockdown for seven additional days following the passing of a 52-year-old woman due to COVID-19 on Saturday, April 18.
Premier and Minister of Finance, Hon. Andrew Fahie updated the territory close to midnight following an extended emergency session of the Cabinet.
It was disclosed that the continued lockdown is to enable the Territory to trace, isolate and contain the spread of COVID-19.
"Cabinet agreed to instruct the Attorney General after advice from the National Security Council to extend the 24-hours Curfew for a period of 7 days from Sunday, 19th April 2020 until the Saturday, 25th April, 2020. From 6:00 a.m. tomorrow Sunday, 19 April, 2020, until 25 April, 2020, a new curfew arrangement goes in place. For these seven days, the curfew will be in effect for 24 hours daily, everyone must remain at home," Hon. Fahie stated.
He added, "This is important for containing any spread of the virus, and to allow the Health Officials the time they need to do thorough contact tracing. I want to point out that we must keep our minds open to any possibility, and this applies also to our Sister Islands."
The Government had announced plans for a phased re-opening of the Territory starting today where certain businesses were allowed to undertake preparatory work to commence serving the seniors and essential workers from Sunday. A more wider opening plan was set to commence Monday.
Those plans have since been scrapped.
"You would recall that these measures have become necessary in light of the discovery of a suspected COVID-19 case in the Territory on Thursday, 16 April, 2020 and the subsequent passing of the 52-year-old female patient at the Dr. D. Orlando Smith Hospital this morning, Saturday, 18 April, 2020," Premier Fahie shared.
He said the BVI mustmaintain our ground in the fight against this virus.
"If we relax our hand, we run the risk of the virus gaining ground, and this must not happen. We must not lose another person to this virus. Coronavirus is not playing around with us, and we in the BVI will not play around with it," Premier Fahie stated.
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