#TurksandCaicosIslands – January 25, 2021 – Government is taking precautions after Covid-19 positives turned up in staff from as many as eight departments in the Public Sector; forcing quarantines and limiting staff. It will mean a return to work from home and staff bubbles as shifts will be assigned and in-person service to the general public is reduced as of today.
While a notice to staff on Saturday informed
of the reinstatement of the ‘Public Service Covid-19 Shift System’, a TCI Sun
Newspaper report quotes Anya Williams, the Deputy Governor on government areas
impacted by the escalation in new cases of the virus in three islands of the
TCI.
The Ministry of Border Control; the
Ministry of Tourism and the Tourist Board; the Employment Services Department;
the Revenue Control Unit; the Maritime Department; Police and Prison and the
Deputy Governor’s Office are named in the story.
Many staff are reportedly home recovering
or in quarantine.
The recent Ministry of Health situational
report on Covid-19 revealed there are 829 people in quarantine or observation
as a result of nearly 450 new coronavirus patients recorded in the past month.
Visitors allowed into government offices
will be limited and the Deputy Governor, as head of the Public Service is
asking members of the public to utilize online payments and other services
offered by various departments.
In the notice, staff members were
encouraged to take the vaccine in order to protect themselves and their families;
government physicians were recommended for medical consultation.
It seemed the shift system was for the
entire public sector, though only eight offices were listed as directly
affected by the surge in infections.
