Deyalsingh: More than one group of 25 can campaign

HEALTH Minister Terrence Deyalsingh said there is no limit to the number of people who can take in campaign walkabouts once they are separated into groups of 25.

He made the statement at the Health Ministry’s virtual press conference on Saturday morning.

He made reference to nomination day – on Friday – as several groups including well over 25 people were seen campaigning. Many were also hugging each other and shaking hands.

Deyalsingh said those issues were “cause for concern,” and he wanted to “address it frontally and not run from it.

“We know nomination day is a day of high emotions, there’s mixing of the two major parties showing their love and respect for each other."But, he added, "in some areas it was a bit concerning.”

He said he hoped it was a “one-off,” as there are currently no plans to increase the number of people allowed to gather publicly, nor to relax physical distancing measures.

He also suggested general election candidates wear face shields during campaign walkabouts – as opposed to masks – especially when being interviewed by the media.

At previous press conferences, he urged the public to wear face masks and not to remove them when speaking with others.

But during walkabouts and campaigning on Friday, many candidates removed their masks to ensure microphones picked up their voices clearly during interviews.

Asked about this by Newsday, Deyalsingh said, “What I tend to do when I’m being interviewed face to face, I try to step back as much as possible. I don’t speak loudly. The softer you speak, the less chance of droplets being carried.

"A lot of common sense has to be applied when speaking to members of the media.

“Sometimes I wear a face shield, which protects both myself and the person I’m speaking to. The transparent face shields are easily available. I don’t use a mask on my walkabouts.”

Asked by Newsday to clarify on the groups of 25, if candidates could have as many of these groups as they please, he said, “A lot of common sense has to be employed in this thing.”

He said he had three groups of 25 on nomination day, and assigned a marshal to each group.

“All I can say is that, you can’t have 100 groups of 25. That will eventually morph into a melee.

"But it is incumbent on of all of us to manage this situation. There’s no regulation to say you can only have three groups of 25 or 1,000 groups of 25. A lot of common sense has to apply.”

He said the current public health regulations are due to expire on Sunday, and Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi is drafting the new regulations.