Bar owners upset; tour operators happy with covid19 changes

Covid19 restrictions has been extended for another two weeks, with some relaxation in certain areas, but some sectors remained upset.

The Prime Minister on Saturday at a media conference held at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s evaluated the country’s response in handling the pandemic.

He said if the decrease in new cases continue, more areas of the economy will be reopened in two weeks.

One sector of the economy which anxiously awaited Dr Keith Rowley’s announcements was the Barkeepers & Operators Association (BOATT). To their dismay, bar operations have not normalised.

Rowley said, “For a little while longer we believe, as we anticipate a reduction in the concentration of the virus on a national population, for a little while longer, we believe we should stay away from those activities (religious gatherings).

“By a little while longer, I mean two weeks and the same thing applies to bars and restaurants. It is our view that if there is no significant upward tick in our concentrations now, by the 24 of this month we should be able to make the changes that would bring back activities into these areas.”

President of BOATT Teron Mohan said the announcement was disappointing.

He said, “What the PM did was disappointing and unacceptable. The banks and landlords do not want to hear about delayed payments.

“We will be holding talks about our options and next move and that is all I can say for now.”

Rowley also said activity at the Caroni swamp and Buccoo Reef will resume but beaches have not been opened to the public.

He said, “While we are not looking at the return to the beach for everybody... because wearing of the mask is so important, that where it is not done the exposure and risk is much higher.

“What we could have is people on a reef boat wearing a mask or a Caroni boat wearing a mask and as a result of that we believe that we can start back some operations in these two areas by granting exemptions to Buccoo Reef tours and Caroni swamp tours.”

Owner and operator of Nanan’s Tours at the Caroni swamp, Lester Nanan told Sunday Newsday he was extremely overwhelmed about the decision to re-open their operations.

He said, “We have everything ready for the restarting of operations and tours at the Caroni swamp. We have sanitation stalls, social distancing protocols and have even retailored our tour schedule to accommodate the health protocols.”

Nanan noted that tours will only include ten people at a time on a boat but the cost per person on such a tour has been slightly modified.

He said, “There will be a small increase in the rates, with adults now paying $75 up for $60 and children paying $40. We don’t want to pressure anyone with the prices but at least we could break-even.

“We will have to introduce family tours and private tours, that will include drinks and goodies starting at $1,200. People have been requesting private tours. It will be a very nice experience.”

Nanan said he understood the need for the restrictions but implored the public to do the right things for other sectors of the economy to reopen.