IN ABOUT two weeks, in-house dining, casinos, gyms, bars and cinemas will be allowed to resume operations having been designated as “safe zones” where everyone – customers, the business owners and their workers must all be vaccinated and have tangible evidence to prove their vaccination status.

This was revealed by the Prime Minister on Thursday during a press conference he hosted at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s.

Dr Rowley also confirmed that schools will be reopened on October 4, but only for fully vaccinated students in forms 4-6. The opening of the “safe zones” will be on October 11.

“We will provide approval for restaurants, cinemas, bars that have restaurant service, entertainment places, NAPA, SAPA, Queen’s Hall, places like that, to be utilised by the population...but by the vaccinated population. Choice. If you are vaccinated, these facilities will be available to you. It will come into force from Monday, October 11,” Rowley said.

He reckoned TT now has half a million vaccinated individuals, but these must all show proof of vaccination to access the safe zones.

Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young, who also spoke at the press conference, reiterated that safe zones were only for the vaccinated population.

“They are going to be applicable, all other things being equal, from October 11, cinemas and theatres, NAPA, SAPA, Queen’s Hall, casinos and betting shops; bars and restaurants; gyms and fitness centres and those kinds of things; to vaccinated persons over the age of 12,” Young said.

“The owners of these safe zones are required to make sure all of the employees operating in these safe zones – for example a restaurant and a bar – are fully vaccinated. They (owners) will be required to have proof of vaccination of all their employees operating in the safe zone on the premises.

“The patrons in these premises can only be fully vaccinated people who will be required to walk with their vaccination cards, to provide it to the enforcement officers.” Enforcement will be by the police and public health officers, Young said.

He said establishment owners will be legally liable for ensuring their staff and patrons are fully vaccinated and must display a poster declaring their premises as being a safe zone. Any owner violating this duty, will be subject to a fine which is now being considered, and which could increase for repeat offences.

NO ALCHOL

This tiered system of penalties could consist of a suspension for each of a first and second offence, and for a third offence a reversion to only a take-away food service excluding dining-in.

“Also in the first instance, because it is a big roll out, there will be no consumption of alcohol on premises. So the bars and restaurants, you are free to serve food, you are free to serve soft drinks etcetera, but this is in the first instance because we want to get people back out.”

Capacity at any safe zone must not exceed 50 per cent of the us