Mask mandate still in place for certain gov’t offices
Deputy Governor David Archer Jr has announced that there is an extension of the mask mandate at certain government offices with high public interaction.
Following Health Minister Marlon Penn’s recent announcement that the government will be removing the mask mandate in both public and private spaces, the Deputy Governor said in a statement on Tuesday, June 21 that discussions were held with senior leaders of the public service.
These talks concerned developing and instituting a mask policy for public officers and offices in the absence of a legal mandate.
Coming out of those meetings the Deputy Governor said: “For the next three to six months, considering the high interaction with the public, especially frontline support, receptionists and other officers who give direct and regular service to external clients, an extension of the mask policy will be implemented,” Archer Jr said.
The mask extension will apply to all courts in the territory, the BVI Post, the Civil Registry and Passport Office, Department of Information and Public Relations, Department of Labour and Workforce Development, Department of Motor Vehicles, and Department of Trade.
The extension also applies to the Deputy Governor’s Office Apostille Unit; the Environmental Health Division; Her Majesty’s Customs; the Immigration Department; the Inland Revenue Department; the Land Registry; law enforcement and Border control agencies; public health and healthcare services including but not limited to Environmental Health Division and Public Health Unit; schools and educational centres (announcement to be made by the Ministry of Education), social care services including senior homes and other residential facilities; the Survey Department; Treasury Department; and the Water and Sewerage Department.
The Deputy Governor added that the three-to-six-month period is not limited to, nor does it solely affect the offices listed. He said officers outside of the named offices are also allowed to continue wearing masks if deemed necessary for their safety and peace of mind.
Archer Jr also cautioned public officers to stay safe and to use discretional knowledge when interacting with co-workers and members of the public as COVID-19 is still an active pandemic.
“The health and safety of both the public and public officers remain a priority as the public service continues to remain flexible and adaptable as it relates to COVID-19 protocols,” the Deputy Governor said.
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This makes no sense. If masks mandates are determined by public health and medical science, then there is no reasons to maintain them in government offices when not generally required in other public/private spaces.
This type of action is what results in regulatory creep – where something starts as a temporary requirement to address a ever worsening situation but then never goes away even when then situation is under control.
Why not mandate to not having sewerage running in the streets? Why not mandate constant running water for all citizens? Why not mandate lower food prices? Mandate better education for our children.
Deputy Governor stop the madness, do better to “YOUR” people. Is this best thing you can mandate? Stop stressing people.
Because some civil servants won’t get vaccinated, I have to put on a mask to deal with them. Fire those that won’t get vaccinated!
I see you’ve been successfully brainwashed…
Its obvious that the left hand dont know what the right hand is doing
In other words it is a requirement for all government office. If Marlon cant see that this is a slap in his face he need glasses. He says one thing then another goes behind his back and say not so fast you are still under our control.
Marlon is being used in this VIP led coalition. If he supports this weak premier how can he be critical of him come election. We want more like Frazier who refused to be bought with a ministry. If they wanted a unity government he was senior to Kyle so why wasn’t he given the deputy.
Marlon .most likely will continue to win his seat but now has lost every chance to be opposition leader ago much less premier. He has now become a yes man to a weak leader.
All of the politicians need to go – Marlon, Frazier and the rest. They have all failed the BVI
The fact that schools are on the list is extremely disappointing. Children should not be forced to wear masks all day when they are at the lowest risk of Covid of anyone in the population. Most countries outside the US never forced children to mask to begin with, and school mask mandates have now been dropped virtually everywhere in the US now as well. The difference in Covid rates between masked and non-masked schools is nonexistent. Let the kids breathe.
masks are nothing but dystopian control, people wake up, gov offices cant make you wear them, no one can
this crap is nothing more then a evil control tactic by the gov, the cdc and the Biden drones, masks equal the devil.
masks are nothing more then to wipe your abutt when you run out of toliet paper, when i see people wearing them, i want to take them off their face, and say hey, use it to wipe your butt/so these evil control freaks can shove it