Chambers, ECA support Govt's call to stay home

Chairman of the Employers Consultative Association of TT Keston Nancoo is supporting calls from Government for people to limit leaving their homes to avoid contracting or spreading covid19.

Speaking with Newsday on Tuesday, Nancoo said the public should understand the gravity of the situation.

He said everyone had a responsibility to be safe while maintaining the safety of others.

"We are all intelligent people, we see the kind of danger this (disease) is posing to the entire world. People are still in fact not prepared to do what is correct in the set of circumstances.

"The Government has been doing an excellent job thus far and they were hoping that moral suasion would have debarred people and have them understand the importance of staying at home."

Newsday also spoke with CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce of TT Nirad Tewarie who said he supported calls for the public to limit their movement as much as possible.

"As much as possible we support that. What we have to do is understand what systems are being put in place to support that call, because people still have to go to the groceries and they have to get money."

Tewarie also said the calls for self-isolation were necessary precautions given the increasing number of cases and deaths in other countries.

For his part, CEO of the TT Chamber of Commerce Gabriel Faria said the Ministry of Health is offering the best advice available and called on the public to stay at home or face the consequences.

"The more you engage with people, the more at risk you are. As a citizen, I am doing my best to distance myself as best as possible.

"My recommendation to the public is to heed the warnings of the Health Minister and try to stay at home as much as we can. If we don't, maybe one week down the road or two days down the road, we will be told we are quarantined and cannot go anywhere."

Faria said Government was trying to convince the public of the seriousness of the issue, but it was the responsibility of citizens to heed the call or face more severe repercussions.