By Nelson Manneh
Consistent with the powers vested in the Health Minister by Regulation No.6 of the Public Health (Dangerous Infectious Diseases) Protection Regulations 2020, the Gambia Government has announced with immediate effect, the temporal closure of all Non-Essential Public Places for 90 days. The announcement came after the country experienced a daily increase of people contracting the deathly COVID-19 disease, with the country now recording over four hundred confirmed cases of the novel Coronavirus with nine deaths and over three hundred active cases.
Citation of Temporary Closure of Non-Essential Public Places
According to the Government announcement, the Order may be cited as the ‘Temporal Closure of Non-Essential Public Places Order 2020.’
“It is hereby ordered that all Non-Essential Public Places are temporarily closed,” the announcement stated; that the Non-Essential Public Places include: bars and pubs, sit-in restaurants, cinemas and video clubs, gymnasia & swimming pools, night clubs and music lounges, group events at beaches, casinos, gaming parlour’s and sporting fields.
Prohibition of public gatherings
Government has also prohibited public gatherings for events such as naming ceremonies, weddings, funerals and other social events that invite social gatherings. Children roaming the streets unaccompanied by an adult are also prohibited.
Any person, who violates the Order, commits an offence and is liable upon conviction, to a fine of One Thousand Dalasi.
