TEATT Minister Roger Lawrence
PHILIPSBURG--Businesses in the country can now open according to the times indicated in their business licences, as all restrictions on the opening hours of businesses have been removed.
“We have also coordinated for our next phase of normalcy, that … all restrictions regarding business opening hours will be removed and businesses can now open as per the time indicated on their respective licences,” Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Roger Lawrence said during the Council of Ministers press briefing on Wednesday.
He said the focus remains on economic activity in the country. However, he stressed that no one should become complacent and that everyone should continue taking the necessary precautions as usual.
In a follow-up statement issued late Wednesday afternoon Lawrence said the country is transitioning back to full normalcy with a halt to all measures related to the COVID-19 Prevention and Safety Plan for the Business Community.
“We are now fully open as of March 16 without any business restrictions. The lifting of measures will allow us as a country to see a continued expansion in economic activity for the remainder of the year. Unprecedented measures were taken in March 2020 along with the country lockdown. Two years later, we have reached the stage where we can remove the remaining business sector restrictions. COVID-19 has not disappeared; however, cases remain low and manageable,” Lawrence said in the release.
The ministry urges the public to “be mindful of the precautions that allowed us to reach this phase, such as washing hands, cough and sneeze etiquette and proper sanitising of the workplace.”
