Animal shelter employees added to essential workers

STAFF at animal shelters are now deemed as essential workers under the amended stay at home orders set to take effect from midnight Sunday until April 15.

The new list, which replaced the initial one, also includes the Office of the President which had been omitted.

On Thursday, the Prime Minister announced Cabinet’s agreement to forbid all non-essential activities during this period in an attempt to limit the number of people going to work.

At a press conference on Friday morning, National Security Minister highlighted the areas considered as essential, of which animal shelter workers were not included.

The regulations did, however, include workers employed in veterinary health, and the manufacturing and distribution of vaccines, drugs and food for animals.

But in the amended regulations, which revoked the earlier list, made available on Saturday, included, “workers who must look after and feed animals at zoos and animal shelters.”

For the past two weeks, animal shelters have been urging the public to adopt or foster animals as staff’s working hours are being reduced due to covid19, which means less time spent with the animals.

The essential services are:

- Judiciary and legal services

- Cabinet

- Tobago House of Assembly

- Police

- Defence Force

- Immigration

- Strategic Services Agency

- Hospitals

- Water

- Electricity

- Telecommunications

- Funeral homes

- Sanitation

- Prisons

- Rehabilitation centres and other detention centres

- Children’s homes

- Disabled homes

- Elderly and geriatric homes

- Private security

- Social workers and NGOs that serve the less fortunate

- Banks

- Unit Trust Corporation

- Cooperative services,

- Service providers of safety and sanitation such as plumbers.

- Live-in domestic workers

- Convenience stores, corner shops, discount stores

- Supermarkets

- Groceries

- Pharmacies

- Hardwares

- All government services (minimum staff)

- Inland Revenue

- Customs and Excise

- Transportation and logistic services

- Port operations

- Manufacturers of food, beverages and pharmaceuticals

- Aviation and airport operations

- Services related to ports

- Warehouses

- Public transportation but at 50 per cent capacity

- Restaurants can have take away and delivery.

- Media

- Agriculture: food production

- Energy services: oil and gas

- UWI’s Seismic Research Unit

- Construction workers only in health-related work