Young warns public: CHARGE FOR EATING OUT

JULIEN NEAVES and RHIANNA MC KENZIE

PEOPLE should not eat at roadside food outlets and anyone caught doing so can be charged by the police, National Security Minister Stuart Young has said.

“So when you go to your street vendor to purchase your food item...whatever it may be, please understand that you are not allowed to consume it on-site. Take it, move on, go away, go to your homes and eat the food, et cetera. We are not allowing people to congregate on-site to eat these various food items. And to do so will be a breach of the regulations and the police are entitled to charge you for that.”

He gave this warning on Monday at the daily covid19 virtual media conference. He said any in-restaurant dining has been made an offence, be it a formal setting like a restaurant or informal, such as roadside food vendors.
“This is a very important regulation that now gives our law enforcement the power to deal with people who breach this regulation.”

Young said when people go to food outlets they should wear a mask and practise social hygiene and physical distancing. He said the police are aware of the regulations and he has been in constant communication with the Commissioner of Police. “And they are going to be stepping up their continued police efforts with respect to keeping us all safe.”

The penalty for breaching the regulation upon conviction is a $50,000 fine and six months' imprisonment. Young said Government is asking for roadside food vendors, including those selling gyros, hamburgers, hot dogs, doubles, pies or drinks out of a cooler, to assist with physical distancing by placing markers six feet apart for customers to stand and to have them adhere to it.

He noted that street vending of food and beverages and all retail food services, delivery and take away food services shall only be open up for sale to the public up to 8 pm. “This is being done for the specific public health regulations and to allow us to be able to ‘police it,’ for want of a better phrase.”

He added that by and large businesses have been conforming with the regulations. During the media conference, a photograph was displayed of people in a line buying food and not practising physical distancing. Young said this was one of the photographs sent to him and he is concerned. He pointed to one man who appeared to be eating.

“We are not allowing on-site consumption. We really don’t want the congregating of people. Exercise physical distancing. Please be aware that it is now against the regulations for you to have on-site consumption of whatever food it is you are purchasing. People, we just need to stay home, stay safe, and continue with the discipline, please.”

On growing   food, Young stressed that food production via agriculture is 100 per cent unimpeded and on Sunday night a regulation was added so that services and workers engaged in construction related to agricultural and food production, including land preparation, are allowed.

“Everything that is related to agriculture is permitted.”
Immediately after the virtual media conference, Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh and Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram, accompanied by a public health inspector, made impromptu visits to reopened restaurants in downtown Port of Spain.

The Prime Minister announced on Saturday that as part of government’s phased reopening strategy, public restaurants would be allowed to offer take-away services as of Monday morning.

Customers and staff at KFC, Mario’s and neighbouring food outlets on Independence Square had a surprise when they were unexpectedly visited by the government officials.

One KFC customer, on recognising them, abandoned her order and ran outside, hiding her face from the cameras that followed the minister and his entourage.

Deyalsingh and his team inspected the restaurants, speaking to managers and closely watching to see if customers and staff were observing physical distancing protocols. Before arriving downtown, Deyalsingh said, he visited two doubles vendors and a restaurant on Park Street where he usually has lunch, but which he did not identify. The Ministry of Health is at the corner of Park and Edward Streets.

“We decided to make an unannounced visit to see what is happening with food establishments from small, medium and large,” he said. “What we have noticed is that there is a terrible degree of inconsistency: some are very good, some are so-so, some are terrible.”

Deyalsingh said he and his team will have to come up with regulations to be implemented for restaurants, with “minimum standards to apply across the board.”

“Certain minimal requirements (will be) drafted by regulation and that is what we are going to be doing from now on,” he said.

The team also visited Hosein’s Roti Shop and Lucky Bakery along Independence Square, speaking with members of the public along the way on Charlotte Street.
- With reporting by Elizabeth Gonzales