Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley Hosts Media Conference On COVID 19 - Monday April 6th 2020

KEY POINTS FROM TODAY’S PRESS CONFERENCE (Monday April 6th) - Prime Minister Dr. Rowley : Stay at Home regulations are now extended until April 30th - Prime Minister Dr. Rowley : Effective tomorrow (Tuesday April 7th) , ALL food establishments are to be closed until April 30th. - Prime Minister Dr. Rowley : Business hours to be shortened: Hardware stores including electrical and plumbing establishments to be open from 8AM to 12PM All Retail services, such as discount stores, markets, supermarkets, fruit stalls or shops, vegetable stall or shops, bakeries and “parlours”, which provide food or medicine or other necessities of life - will be required to close to the public by 6PM daily. Wholesale stores for the provision of food, medicine or other necessities of life will be required to close by 4PM daily; All Pharmacies will be required to close by 8PM daily. - Prime Minister Dr. Rowley : Effective immediately, all persons in public are to wear masks. The Ministry of Health is set to distribute masks in due course. - Minister of Health : Ministry to distribute cloth masks through Members of Parliament, Regional Corporations or areas of high traffic like City Gate. - Minister of Health : Cloth Masks CAN be re-used once washed properly. - Minister of Health : All 8 Covid-19 related deaths were people in the at risk category, that is, elderly persons with pre-existing conditions. - Minister of Health : There is no ventilator shortage at this time, 52 ventilators are available exclusively for Covid-19 and the Government is currently sourcing more. - Minister of Health : Due to panic buying, there is now a surge of demand for Hydroxychloroquine which has created a shortage and left Lupus, Malaria and Rheumatoid Arthritis patients, struggling with price gouging. - Minister of Health : People who do not NEED Hydroxychloroquine are asked to please return the drug to pharmacies. Pharmacies are also asked to NOT engage in price gouging of necessary medication. - Chief Medical Officer: 96 people are now hospitalized , 26 patients in Caura who are all doing well with minimal symptoms, 70 patients in Couva, 66 of whom are doing well with minimal symptoms. Of the remaining patients, 1 person is in the Intensive Care Unit and 3 persons in the High Dependency Unit. In Balandra, 22 persons continue to test negative and once the 14 days are over they will be discharged. - Minister of National Security : Fishermen ARE Essential and the sale of Fish on the roadside/markets WILL continue. - Minister of National Security : As of today, ONLY supermarkets will be selling alcohol and you cannot consume it on the premises. - Prime Minister Dr.Rowley : Tensions between the US and Venezuela are cause for concern. He says CARICOM will try to maintain its function as a zone of peace and will remain under the umbrella of the United Nations.