Arima Business Association head: Stricter rules a warning

President of the Arima Business Asssociation (ABA) Reval Chattergoon said while a return to tighter restrictions to activities was expected, he hoped it served as a warning to the public that even harsher measures were possible if they did not obey the public health regulations.

On Thursday morning Chattergoon issued a media release in which he called for a full lockdown in response to rising covid19 cases.

Responding to reports that several kinds of businesses, including restaurants and bars, would be closed until May 23, Chattergoon said the the decision was necessary to ensure the population's health and safety.

"Yes business needs money to survive and consumers need to spend. But at some point in time we have to consider our employees, our customers and community, because if everyone has the virus and there is a great death toll, then who is there to revive the economy?

"It's really to caution and get better behaviour from our citizens, because clearly from what the Prime Minister says, if he sees people flouting the regulations, he may very well think of harsher restrictions."

Chattergoon said while the shutdown of certain businesses was inevitable, he hoped the government would put in place policies to help support small businesses.

"It doesn't make sense you open and your income is $5 on that day but your total expenditure is $8 or $9. So we would be calling on the government to seek out some assistance for the small and medium-sized businesses."

He also called on the government to consider sourcing World Health Organisation-approved vaccines through the private sector.