Gov’t withdraws controversial legislation

ST GEORGE’S (CMC):

The Grenada government says it will no longer table the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Control Bill 2020 in Parliament on Wednesday after members of the population announced plans to stage public protest against the measures.

The proposed legislation would have provided for a maximum penalty of EC$25,000 (one EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) in a magistrate court for any person found guilty of violating any section of the law.

A government statement said that the legislation had been drafted “after nearly four months of managing the SARS-CoV-2 national crisis, and the continuous examination of the medical and scientific information, as well as the experience of the management of the emergency on the ground”.

“These matters informed the bill as the government was paying keen attention to the continuous feedback which was being provided by the public and its stakeholders. The sole intention of the bill is to protect our people, especially now that we have taken the decision to reopen our borders.

“It must be noted that while the bill does not significantly change the existing legislation and does not contravene our constitution, we have listened to the concerns raised and will delay the process to give an opportunity to address these concerns, keeping in mind that the health and safety of our people must not be compromised,” the Keith Mitchell government said in the statement.

It said it accepts “responsibility for not ensuring that the public had a full explanation of the bill before attempting to take it to Parliament, and therefore commits to improving the process”.

The intended legislation provides the minister for health with the powers to make regulation for its effective implementation. It also seeks to empower the minister to make an order to impose requirements or restrictions in relation to the holding of an event or gathering; seeks to empower the minister to make an order to impose prohibitions, requirements or restrictions in relation to the entry into, departure from, or location of persons in premises; and empower the minister to make an order to impose prohibitions, requirements or restrictions in relation to the manner of travel in motor vehicles.

However, all these powers provided to the health minister for the 12-month period “would be exercised in consultation with the chief medical officer”.

For persons entering the country, the bill mandates police officers or immigration officers to take action on any person once there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a person is potentially infectious.

“The immigration officer may direct the person to go immediately to a place specified in the direction which is suitable for screening and assessment; or remove the person to a place suitable for screening and assessment,” said the legislation, which mandates that before exercising the powers conferred by the legislation, the law-enforcement officer must consult a public health officer.

Grenada has recorded 23 laboratory-confirmed cases and tested samples of more than 3,000, with just a little under 1,000 experiencing the PCR test which is done through the nostril. The others were tested using the rapid test kits, which are done by blood.

Grenada has no deaths and all confirmed cases were declared as medically recovered. The last confirmed case was in late May 2020, but health officials are continuously reminding the public that there can be asymptomatic persons moving around who can pass the virus on to others.

As part of its early measures to stop the spread, the government declared a state of emergency which restricted the movement of citizens.