The Mayor and City Council of Georgetown has fined 51 persons for not wearing face masks, 14 for illegal vending and 30 persons were arrested and will be put before the court for breaking the COVID-19 curfew.
The City Council had announced a $5,000 fine for persons who do not wear masks and a $25,000 fine for persons found vending illegally.
“We share the concern of our vendors and our people during this time, it is COVID-19 versus economy. I know people want to vend here, there and everywhere but we cannot continue in this manner,” Mayor of Georgetown, Ubraj Narine stated at a press briefing on Wednesday.
The Mayor urged for stricter penalties to be imposed on persons who break the measures put in place by the National COVID-19 Task Force, as he referred to large numbers of persons gathering at the Marriott Beach.
“You cannot expect that the administration of the Mayor and City Council or National Task Force or Government to come out and hold your hands and tell you what is social distancing…we should take all necessary precaution in fighting this deadly virus. We see what other countries face in the last few months,” the Mayor said.
He explained that he took the decision recently to close the Stabroek Market because customers were reluctant to wear masks and wash their hands before entering the market.
In another plea for citizens to be responsible, the Mayor called on minibuses not to overload with passengers and on the same note also urged passengers not to condone such actions by minibus drivers.
“We need to be more vigilant with these buses or we need to set a proper measure so bus drivers can follow and as well I will not go to the extent to blame the bus drivers to an extent,” the Mayor said.
Minibuses are only allowed to carry half the number of passengers they are licensed to transport so as to allow for social distancing.
