Diexter Thomas
THE public has been asked to play their part in keeping social distancing when they are outside their homes.
Active cases have remained static at 12 after Saturday’s first day of trading for many shops around the Rock.
Meanwhile a total of 965 interventions have been made by police officers to enforce lockdown regulations in Gibraltar since March 23.
This number includes 48 arrests and 12 people reported in case of any future breach of the social distancing rules.
The RGP actions included officers stopping 216 people who were over the age of 70.
Minister for Civil Contingencies Samantha Sacramento revealed that every time people went outside they became more complacent of the lockdown rules.
“Let me start by saying that we continue to be in lockdown,” said Sacramento.
“This is not a time to be walking up and down Main Street to socialise – this time will come but it has not come yet.”
It comes after Assistant Commissioner Richard Ullger expressed his alarm with the volume of people on streets last Saturday as shops opened their doors for the first time in six weeks.
The easing of lockdown restrictions allowed offices, estate agencies, retailers, beauticians and hairdressers to open from May 2.
RGP Commissioner Ian McGrail urged people to only go to the hairdresser if they have an appointment and warned against waiting around on benches in public.
McGrail recommended that people should ‘self police’ rather than rely on the ‘strong arm of the law’.
“People should have that etiquette, understanding and sense of social responsibility,” he added.
Retailers will be opening for the beginning of their first working week as from tomorrow after six weeks of hiatus.
This will lead to more people coming across the frontier to work at shops which were previously closed.
These workers will be asked for copies of their employment contract and valid travel documents
As such, temperature checking devices will be set up on tripods at the frontier, hospital and elderly residences.
Swabbing on
Active COVID-19 cases remain at a low in Gibraltar with only 12 people infected and a total of 131 recovered.
The number of people tested in Gibraltar sits at 2,827, an increase of 116 from yesterday’s swab test numbers.
This includes testing done on frontline workers from Elderly Residential Services, Customs, the Royal Gibraltar Police to name but a few.
The figures make Gibraltar one of the highest testers in the world, a real vindication of the aim to ‘find and destroy’ the virus.
The low amount of cases has also made the Rock have to tread carefully while releasing the restrictions on movement.
With some members of the public urging caution, the authorities will be examining if there is a surge from this new liberalisation of the economy.
