Ramadhar backs repatriation and mask legislation

FORMER St Augustine MP Prakash Ramadhar on Monday said he welcomed the Prime Minister's announcement of greater efforts to repatriate TT nationals domiciled in this country, back home. Ramadhar also wholeheartedly supported the passage of the Public Health Amendment Bill 2020, which makes the wearing of masks in public spaces mandatory.

Referring to Dr Rowley's statements on the repatriation of TT nationals who were stranded outside of TT when its borders were closed earlier this year, Ramadhar said, "Till now, many persons are still reaching out to assist them in coming back home."

While he was still an MP, some of those people sought Ramadhar's services as an attorney to help them return home. Ramadhar continued, "I am very happy that belatedly even, the Prime Minister has indicated that they will open up more numbers to return home. "

He was also pleased that there are "protocols in place to allow persons to home quarantine" Ramadhar said those were matters he had written to CMO Dr Roshan Parasram from April onwards. Reiterating the measures were put in place belatedly, Ramadhar said, "Things that we should have done before, that would have saved a lot of problems, not just in returning citizens but in terms of shutting down the economy."

On August 29, Dr Rowley said, "Given where we are at now, and with the use of home quarantine, our case to keep people outside has been reduced and we will grant exemptions in a more liberal way and persons will come home and when they arrive, (the) CMO will manage that."

On the legislation passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on August 28 and 29 respectively, Ramadhar declared, "I am in full support of the mandatory wearing of masks. We must remember that we are our brother's keeper."

To people who disagree with wearing masks in public, Ramadhar said, "For those who find it inconvenient like myself, it is a very, very negligible price to pay for the benefits that we will gain."

He added the science has shown that masks mitigate "very meaningfully" the ways that covid19 could be spread from one person to another.

Ramadhar acknowledged there were ambiguities with the regulations and how they would be enforced.

On the debate about whether or not members of the same family travelling in a vehicle should all be masked, Ramadhar said, "I do appreciate the need to take away the problems from the police officers who have to enforce, to stop everybody who they pass, to ascertain whether they are family or not or live in the same environment or home."