ST GEORGE’S – The Grenada government Friday said that all schools on the island would be closed for two weeks in the first instance from Monday, as it became the latest Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country to react to the appearance of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the region.
“By all available evidence, and based on the current trends we have seen in our neighbouring Islands, we expect that we will soon see our first case of COVID-19 on Island,” Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell said in a radio and television broadcast.
“In those circumstances, therefore, and in order to safeguard our population against this pandemic, and contain this disease, the following measures will take effect on Monday, March 16. All schools in Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique will be closed for two weeks in the first instance, as a necessary precaution against the contracting or spread of COVID-19.”
He said, further, teachers are being asked to work from home from next Wednesday and that educators and administrators are asked to report to schools on Monday and Tuesday to prepare all relevant material needed to work remotely.
Mitchell said that social distancing had become a new term in the fight against COVID-19 and that based on expert advice, the virus is contracted from droplets when an infected person speaks, coughs or sneezes and either drops on a surface or on a person within a six-foot radius.
“We are, therefore, requesting that all public and other social gatherings, such as cultural, religious and sporting events, cinemas and other places that people gather, that cannot guarantee a minimum of six feet of social distancing, be suspended, until further notice.
“It is paramount that we protect as much as possible all citizens, particularly our elderly as they are most susceptible to die in this outbreak, as we can all recall the sad events in a nursing home in Washington when 29 elderly people were the first recorded deaths in the United States. We are taking no chances and making no gambles on people’s lives.”
Mitchell said, effectively immediately, all visits to elderly nursing homes will be suspended until further notice and those who are receiving at-home care are to exercise extreme caution.
(CMC)