The State of Emergency became effective at midnight on Saturday, however the regulations outlining the specific prohibitions were published and circulated last evening (Sunday).
During the earlier lockdowns by the government there was much contention over issues like exercise and who was allowed as essential Services.
This time these issues have been clearly specified and they include no sale or consumption of alcohol in public spaces or no exercise (in and out of curfew times) in public spaces.
The curfew runs from 9:00pm to 5:00am weekdays and weekends.
Emergency Powers Regulations, 2021 659
3. (1) During the period of public emergency between the hours of 5:01 a.m. to 8:59 p.m. every day, a person shall not–
(a) gather in any public place unless the gathering–
(i) for the purpose of the services are specified in
subregulation (10);
(ii) does not exceed five persons at a time;
(b) be at any work place unless the services are specified in subregulation (10) and shall where possible work from home;
(c) be found at or in any beach, sea, river, stream, pond, spring or similar body of water, any public pool or any mud volcano or mud pool for recreational purposes;
(d) operate a party boat, boat tour or club;
(e) hold public parties or public fetes;
(f) have a public or private pre-school, early childhood education centre, open for classes in such places;
(g) operate a day-care or pre-school for children for the care or education of young children;
(h) operate a water park or amusement park;
(i) operate a bar or restaurant;
(j) sell, or offer for sale food or drink as a street vendor;
(k) consume alcohol in a public place;
(l) participate in any group contact sports;
(m) participate in any team sports;
(n) participate in outdoor sports or exercise in public places; or
(o) operate any sport clubs including cycling, running, hiking, swimming, golf, tennis, football, rugby and hockey clubs,
except where authorised by the Minister.
(2) Notwithstanding subregulation (1)(f), a public or private pre-school or early childhood education centre, may provide classes to its students by electronic or such other means as may be approved by the Minister.
Below is the full list of EMERGENCY POWERS REGULATIONS, 2021
MADE BY THE PRESIDENT UNDER SECTION 7 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
THE EMERGENCY POWERS REGULATIONS, 2021
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Emergency Powers Regulations, 2021.
2. (1) In these Regulations– “public place” means any highway, street, public park or garden, any beach, sea, river, stream, pond, spring or similar body of water, any public pool or mud volcano or mud pools and any public bridge, road, lane, footway, square, court, alley or passage, whether a thoroughfare or not and includes any open or enclosed space to which, for the time being, the public have or are permitted to have access whether on payment or otherwise;
“police officer” has the same meaning as in the Police Service Act, and includes a member of the Special Reserve Police established under the Special Reserve Police Act or a member of the Police Force of any Municipality or any person to whom a precept has been issued under the Supplemental Police Act;
“Proclamation” means the Proclamation made by the President under section 8 of the Constitution declaring that a state of public emergency exists in Trinidad and Tobago;
“period of public emergency” means the period during which the state of public emergency declared by the Proclamation exists, including any extensions thereof under section 10(1) or (2) of the Constitution;
Citation
Interpretation
Chap. 15:01 Chap. 15:02
658 Emergency Powers Regulations, 2021
“Minister” means the member of the Cabinet to whom responsibility for health is assigned;
“Orders” means Orders made under these Regulations; and
“vulnerable person” includes–
(a) any person sixty years or older;
(b) any person under sixty years of age who requires medical care or who has an underlying health condition, including, but not limited to, the conditions listed in subregulation (3);
(c) any person who is pregnant; or
(d) any other person identified by the Minister.
(2) Without prejudice to section 27(3) of the Interpretation Act, subsections (1) and (2) of that section shall apply to, and for the determination of all acts and things previously done under these Regulations, when these Regulations expire, lapse or cease to have effect.
(3) The conditions referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of “vulnerable persons” are–
(a) chronic (long-term) respiratory diseases, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema or bronchitis;
(b) chronic heart disease, such as heart failure;
(c) chronic kidney disease;
(d) chronic liver disease, such as hepatitis;
(e) chronic neurological conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, a learning disability or cerebral palsy;
(f) diabetes;
(g) problems with the spleen, such as sickle cell disease or
removal of the spleen;
(h) a weakened immune system as a result of conditions such as HIV and AIDS, or medicines such as steroid tablets or chemotherapy;
(i) being seriously overweight with a body mass index of forty or above; or
(j) such other conditions as the Minister may by Order prescribe.
Emergency Powers Regulations, 2021 659
3. (1) During the period of public emergency between the hours of 5:01 a.m. to 8:59 p.m. every day, a person shall not–
(a) gather in any public place unless the gathering–
(i) for the purpose of the services are specified in
subregulation (10);
(ii) does not exceed five persons at a time;
(b) be at any work place unless the services are specified in subregulation (10) and shall where possible work from home;
(c) be found at or in any beach, sea, river, stream, pond, spring or similar body of water, any public pool or any mud volcano or mud pool for recreational purposes;
(d) operate a party boat, boat tour or club;
(e) hold public parties or public fetes;
(f) have a public or private pre-school, early childhood education centre, open for classes in such places;
(g) operate a day-care or pre-school for children for the care or education of young children;
(h) operate a water park or amusement park;
(i) operate a bar or restaurant;
(j) sell, or offer for sale food or drink as a street vendor;
(k) consume alcohol in a public place;
(l) participate in any group contact sports;
(m) participate in any team sports;
(n) participate in outdoor sports or exercise in public places; or
(o) operate any sport clubs including cycling, running, hiking, swimming, golf, tennis, football, rugby and hockey clubs,
except where authorised by the Minister.
(2) Notwithstanding subregulation (1)(f), a public or private pre-school or early childhood education centre, may provide classes to its students by electronic or such other means as may be approved by the Minister.
(3) During the period of a public emergency between the hours of 5:01 am to 8:59 pm every day, a primary school, secondary school, tertiary institution or other post-secondary institution may–
(a) as far as practicable, provide classes to its students by electronic or such other means; or
Prohibitions, requirements and exceptions between
5:01 a.m. and 8:59 p.m.
660 Emergency Powers Regulations, 2021
(b) provide classes to such groups, forms or classes of students at primary, secondary, post-secondary or tertiary institutions; or
(c) where classes such as practical, laboratory or other classes cannot be done by electronic means, the post-secondary or tertiary institution may conduct such classes in person by such means,
as the Minister may approve.
(4) Notwithstanding subregulation (3), educational establishments may be open for the purpose of conducting any examination as the Minister may permit.
(5) During the period of a public emergency between the hours of 5:01 am to 8:59 pm every day, a religious or ecclesiastical organisation or any other religious organisation shall not be open for the conduct of religious activities and services except that they may conduct funeral services and wedding services where the gathering of persons at any place used for that purpose does not exceed ten persons.
(6) Notwithstanding subregulation (5) a religious or ecclesiastical organisation or any other religious organisation may conduct religious meetings or services–
(a) by electronic means; or
(b) for the purposes of recording or live streaming same,
where the gathering of persons at any place used for that purpose does
not exceed five persons.
(7) During the period of a public emergency between the hours of 5:01 am to 8:59 pm every day, the number of persons in attendance at a burial, cremation or wedding reception shall be limited to ten persons.
(8) The following places shall remain closed to the public:
(a) a club as defined in section 2 of the Registration of Clubs Act;
(b) a dancehall or theatre licenced under the Theatres and Dancehalls Act;
(c) a theatre licensed under the Cinematograph Act;
(d) a common gaming house, betting pool or office licensed under the Gambling and Betting Act;
Chap. 21:01
Chap. 21:03 Chap. 20:10
Chap. 11:19
Emergency Powers Regulations, 2021 661
(e) spas, hairdressers, hair and beauty technicians and barbers; and
(f) a gym or fitness centre.
(9) During the period of public emergency between the hours of 5:01 am to 8:59 pm every day, no person shall cause, without reasonable excuse, any vessel, being operated in the waters of Trinidad and Tobago, to be raft-up with another vessel for recreational purposes.
(10) During the period of public emergency between the hours of 5:01 am to 8:59 pm every day, the following services may be provided:
(a) operations of the Judiciary, the Magistrate’s and Supreme Courts of Judicature, the Industrial Court and the Environmental Commission, the Equal Opportunities Tribunal and the Tax Appeal Board;
(b) legal services;
(c) operations and sittings of the Houses of Parliament and
meetings of the Cabinet, or any committees thereof;
(d) operations and sittings of the Tobago House of Assembly and meetings of the Assembly or any committees thereof;
(e) operations of the Diplomatic Corps;
(f) primary emergency services–
(i) State and Private Emergency Ambulance Services and all emergency call centres;
(ii) the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service and the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force;
(iii) Trinidad and Tobago Fire Services;
(iv) Immigration Services;
(v) the Strategic Services Agency; and
(vi) Police Complaints Authority;
(g) basic essential, janitorial and maintenance services concerning the provision of–
(i) health; (ii) hospital;
(iii) water;
(iv) electricity;
(v) fire;
662 Emergency Powers Regulations, 2021
(vi) sanitation;
(vii) civil aviation; and
(viii) telecommunications;
(h) workers who support the operation, inspection, and maintenance of essential public works facilities and operations including–
(i) water and sewer main breaks; (ii) fleet maintenance personnel;
(iii) traffic signal maintenance; and (iv) other emergency issues;
(i) health services such as–
(i) District Medical Health Officers, Medical Social
Workers;
(ii) public and private hospitals, laboratories, infirmaries, nursing homes and hospices, funeral homes, crematoria and burial grounds;
(iii) workers and services in support of hospitals, pharmacies;
(iv) workers who supply medical supplies to hospitals and pharmacies including sanitary and hygiene products;
(v) veterinary services;
(vi) the emergency provision of dental, optometric, physical therapy and occupational therapy; and
(vii) medical practitioners including opthalomologists registered under the Medical Board Act and employees necessary for the operations of their private practices;
(j) essential janitorial and maintenance services for private condominiums or town houses, residential homes and public and private facilities;
(k) prisons, Rehabilitation Centres, Immigration Detention Centres or other places of detention;
(l) Children’s Homes, Community Residences and Rehabilitation Centres, places for the care of the differently abled, socially displaced, the elderly and geriatric homes and persons providing care at private residences;
Chap. 29:50
Emergency Powers Regulations, 2021 663
(m) Private Security Firms and Estate Constables, Special Reserve Police and Municipal Police;
(n) social workers, workers who provide social welfare support and non-governmental organisations that work with the socially disadvantaged and vulnerable;
(o) care givers to the elderly and those who require care for medical reasons;
(p) support to ensure the effective removal, storage, and disposal of residential and commercial solid waste and hazardous waste;
(q) workers providing services at hardwares including electrical and plumbing establishments;
(r) financial and insurance services such as–
(i) banking business and business of a financial nature,
as defined in the Financial Institutions Act;
(ii) non-banks, Unit Trust Corporation, National Insurance Board and remittance facilities;
(iii) credit unions under the Cooperative Societies Act;
(iv) workers who are needed to process and maintain systems for processing insurance and financial transactions and services (e.g., information technology, payment, clearing, and settlement, wholesale funding, insurance services and capital markets activities);
(v) workers who are needed to provide consumer access to banking and lending services, including ATMs, and to move currency and payments (e.g., armored cash carriers); and
(vi) workers who support financial operations, such as those staffing data, technology and security operations centres;
(s) workers who are needed to process and maintain accounting and payroll systems;
(t) live-in domestic workers and service providers who provide services that are necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences such as plumbers, electricians, exterminators;
Chap.
Chap.
664 Emergency Powers Regulations, 2021
(u) service providers who provide services that are necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation, and essential maintenance of clubs and facilities that are closed pursuant to these Regulations;
(v) supermarkets, groceries, markets, green grocers, bakeries, poultry depots, fish stalls or shops, fruit stalls or shops, vegetable stalls or shops, “parlours” and “corner shops” provided that not more than fifty per cent of the establishment’s ordinary retail capacity is surpassed at any time during operating hours;
(w) retail membership discount stores for the provision of food, medicine or other necessities of life and where the persons in store are limited to fifty per cent capacity;
(x) wholesale stores for the provision of food, medicine or other necessities of life;
(y) Ministries, Departments, Statutory Authorities, State Enterprises and Agencies of Government, and Municipal Corporations, Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM), Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), Occupational Safety and Health Agency;
(z) Inland Revenue Division, the Treasury Division, the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago and the Customs and Excise Division;
(aa) the Elections and Boundaries Commission;
(ab) manufacture, transportation and logistics services for–
(i) employees of firms manufacturing refrigeration systems and products including those providing services that enable logistics operations, including cooling, storing, packaging, and distributing products for wholesale or retail sale or use;
(ii) maritime transportation workers, port workers, mariners, equipment operators;
(iii) truck drivers who haul hazardous and waste materials to support critical infrastructure, capabilities, functions, and services;
(iv) emergency automotive repair and maintenance facilities;
Emergency Powers Regulations, 2021 665
(v) manufacturers and distributors of food, beverages and pharmaceuticals, including the packaging and bottling of these items;
(vi) postal and shipping workers, including private companies;
(vii) employees who repair and maintain vehicles, aircraft, marine vessels, and the equipment and infrastructure that enables operations that encompass movement of cargo and passengers;
(viii) air transportation employees, including air traffic controllers, ramp personnel, aviation security, and aviation management;
(ix) workers who support the maintenance and operation of cargo by air transportation, including flight crews, maintenance, airport operations, and other on-airport and off-airport facilities workers;
(x) services connected with the loading and unloading and repair of ships and with the storage and delivery of goods at, or from, ports, docks, wharves, storage facilities and warehouses operated in connection with ports, docks or wharves; and
(xi) the provision of public transportation by water-taxi, ferry, motor vehicle, bus, including buses operated by the Public Transport Services Corporation;
(ac) workers supporting supermarkets, groceries, markets, green grocers, bakeries, poultry depots, fish stalls or shops, fruit stalls or shops, vegetable stalls or shops, “parlours” and “corner shops”, retail membership discount stores and pharmacies;
(ad) workers supporting newspapers and media houses;
(ae) services relating to food, beverage and agriculture such as food and beverage manufacturer employees and their supplier employees–
(i) including those employed in food processing facilities;
(ii) at livestock, poultry, seafood slaughter facilities at pet, animal and fish processing facilities;
666 Emergency Powers Regulations, 2021
(iii) at human food facilities producing by-products for animal and fish food and beverage production facilities;
(iv) at the production of food packaging;
(v) including farm workers who are employed in animal and fish food, feed, and ingredient production, packaging, and distribution; manufacturing, packaging, and distribution of veterinary drugs, truck delivery and transport, farm and fishery labour needed to produce domestic food supply;
(vi) workers who must look after and feed animals at zoos, farms and animal shelters;
(vii) fishermen;
(viii) farm workers and support service workers to include those who field crops, commodity inspection, storage facilities; and other agricultural inputs;
(ix) employees and firms supporting food, feed, and beverage distribution, including warehouse workers and vendor managed inventory control managers;
(x) workers supporting the sanitation of all food manufacturing processes and operations from wholesale to retail;
(xi) workers in food testing labs in private industries and in institutions of higher education;
(xii) workers essential for assistance programs and government payments, employees of companies engaged in the production of chemicals, medicines, vaccines, and other substances used by the water treatment and sanitizing industry and the food and agriculture industry, including pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, minerals, enrichments, and other agricultural production aids;
(xiii) animal agriculture workers to include those employed in veterinary health, manufacturing and distribution of animal medical materials, animal vaccines, animal drugs, feed ingredients, feed, and bedding, etc., transportation of live animals, animal medical materials, transportation of deceased
Emergency Powers Regulations, 2021 667
animals for disposal, raising of animals for food, animal production operations, slaughter and packing plants and associated regulatory and government workforce;
(xiv) employees engaged in the manufacture and maintenance of equipment and other infrastructure necessary for food, agricultural production and distribution; and
(xv) workers engaged in the manufacture of alcoholic products and non-alcoholic beverages;
(xvi) workers engaged in the supply of fruit, vegetables, meat and fish to supermarkets, shops, parlours, fruit shops or stalls, vegetable shops or stalls; and
(xvii) workers engaged in the supply of marketable commodities to supermarkets, shops, parlours, fruit stalls;
(af) workers engaged in the production, manufacture and supply of medical supplies and equipment and the servicing and repair of medical equipment and other services specifically provided to the medical sector;
(ag) workers for wholesale suppliers for supermarkets, groceries, markets, green grocers, bakeries, poultry depots, fish stalls or shops, fruit stalls or shops, vegetable stalls or shops, “parlours” and “corner shops” and retail membership discount stores;
(ah) energy services including–
(i) those in the electricity industry such as–
(A) workers who maintain, ensure, or restore the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric power, including call centres, utility workers, reliability engineers and fleet maintenance technicians;
(B) workers at generation, transmission, and electric facilities;
(C) IT and OT technology staff for EMS (Energy Management Systems) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, and utility data centres; Cybersecurity engineers; cybersecurity risk management and back-up data technology;
668 Emergency Powers Regulations, 2021
(D) vegetation management crews and traffic workers who support; and
(E) environmental remediation/monitoring technicians, instrumentation, protection, and control technicians;
(ii) petroleum industries such as–
(A) petroleum stations and convenience marts attached thereto;
(B) petroleum product storage, pipeline, marine transport, terminals, road transport;
(C) crude oil storage facilities, pipeline, and marine transport;
(D) petroleum refinery facilities;
(E) petroleum security operations centre employees and workers who support emergency response services;
(F) petroleum operations control rooms or centres;
(G) petroleum drilling, extraction, production, processing, refining, terminal operations, transporting, and retail for use as end-use fuels or feedstocks for chemical manufacturing;
(H) companies that provide services to oil and gas services; and
(I) onshore and offshore operations for maintenance and emergency response; and
(iii) those in the natural and propane industry as gas workers, including for–
(A) natural gas transmission and distribution pipelines, including compressor stations;
(B) underground storage of natural gas;
(C) natural gas processing plants, and those that deal with natural gas liquids;
(D) Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facilities;
(E) natural gas security operations centre, natural gas operations dispatch and control rooms or centres natural gas emergency response and customer emergencies, including natural gas leak calls;
Emergency Powers Regulations, 2021 669
(F) drilling, production, processing, refining, and transporting natural gas for use as end-use fuels, feedstocks for chemical manufacturing, or use in electricity generation;
(G) propane gas dispatch and control rooms and emergency response and customer emergencies, including propane leak calls;
(H) propane gas service maintenance and restoration, including call centres;
(I) processing, refining, and transporting natural liquids, including propane gas, for use as end-use fuels or feedstocks for chemical manufacturing; and
(J) propane gas storage, transmission, and distribution centres;
(ai) critical manufacturing such as workers necessary for the manufacturing of materials and products needed for medical supply chains, transportation, energy, communications, food, beverage and agriculture, chemical manufacturing, the operation of dams, water and wastewater treatment, emergency services, law enforcement and defence services;
(aj) chemical services such as–
(i) workers supporting the chemical and industrial gas supply chains, including workers at chemical manufacturing plants, workers in laboratories, workers at distribution facilities, workers who transport basic raw chemical materials to the producers of industrial and consumer goods, including hand sanitizers, food, beverage and food and beverage additives, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and paper products;
(ii) workers supporting the safe transportation of chemicals, including those supporting tank truck cleaning facilities and workers who manufacture packaging items;
(iii) workers supporting the production of protective cleaning and medical solutions, personal protective equipment, and packaging that prevents the contamination of food, water, medicine, among other essential products;
670 Emergency Powers Regulations, 2021
(iv) workers supporting the operation and maintenance of facilities, particularly those with high risk chemicals or sites that cannot be shut down, whose work cannot be done remotely and requires the presence of highly trained personnel to ensure safe operations, including plant contract workers who provide inspections; and
(v) workers who support the production and transportation of chlorine and alkali manufacturing, single-use plastics, and packaging that prevents the contamination or supports the continued manufacture of food, water, medicine, and other essential products, including glass container manufacturing;
(ak) hotels, guest houses or econo-lodges;
(al) the seismic research unit of the University of the West
Indies;
(am) workers who are necessary to keep furnaces and kilns operating safely in manufacturing operations that are not captured as essential operation in this subregulation but who are needed to keep those furnaces and kilns operating for safety reasons;
(an) trade unions as defined under the Trade Unions Act; and
(ao) any trade, profession, business or service, activity or public
gathering, authorised to be carried on by the Minister.
(11) The Commissioner of Police may by Order vary the times set out in this regulation.
4. (1) Subject to the exemptions set out in subregulation (5), no person shall be outside of their private dwelling, including in a motor vehicle, ship or vessel during the hours of–
(a) 9:00 pm to 5:00 am from Monday to Friday;
(b) 9:00 pm to 5:00 am on Saturdays and Sundays,
without the authorization of the Commissioner of Police or such other person or authority as may be authorized by him for the purpose and any such permission may be granted subject to such conditions as may be specified therein.
Curfew prohibition, requirements and exceptions between
9.00 p.m. and 5.00 a.m.
Emergency Powers Regulations, 2021 671
(2) For the purposes of subregulation (1), during the period of a public emergency between the hours of 9:00 pm to 5:00 am every day no person shall–
(a) gather in any public place;
(b) be at any work place unless the services are specified in
subregulation (5) and shall where possible work from home;
(c) be found at or in any beach, sea, river, stream, pond, spring or similar body of water, any public pool or any mud volcano or mud pool for recreational purposes;
(d) operate a party boat, boat tour or club;
(e) hold public parties or public fetes;
(f) have a public or private pre-school, early childhood education centre, open for classes in such places;
(g) operate a day-care or pre-school for children for the care or education of young children;
(h) operate a water park or amusement park;
(i) operate a bar or restaurant;
(j) sell, or offer for sale food or drink as a street vendor;
(k) consume alcohol in a public place;
(l) participate in any group contact sports;
(m) participate in any team sports;
(n) participate in outdoor sports or exercise in public places; or
(o) operate any sport clubs including cycling, running, hiking, swimming, golf, tennis, football, rugby and hockey clubs,
except where authorised by the Minister.
(3) The following places shall remain closed to the public:
(a) a club as defined in section 2 of the Registration of Clubs Act;
(b) a dancehall or theatre licenced under the Theatres and Dancehalls Act;
(c) a theatre licensed under the Cinematograph Act;
(d) a common gaming house or betting office licensed under the
Gambling and Betting Act; and
(e) spas, hairdressers, hair and beauty technicians and barbers; and
(f) a gym or fitness centre.
672 Emergency Powers Regulations, 2021
(4) During the period of a public emergency between the hours of 9:00 pm to 5:00 am every day, no person shall causes, without reasonable excuse, any vessel, being operated in the waters of Trinidad and Tobago, to be raft-up with another vessel for recreational purposes.
(5) Subregulation (1) shall not apply–
(a) operations of the Judiciary, the Magistrate’s and Supreme Courts of Judicature, the Industrial Court and the Environmental Commission, the Equal Opportunities Tribunal, Tax Appeal Board;
(b) legal services;
(c) operations and sittings of the Houses of Parliament and
meetings of the Cabinet, or any committees thereof;
(d) operations and sittings of the Tobago House of Assembly and meetings of the Assembly or any committees thereof;
(e) operations of the Diplomatic Corps;
(f) primary emergency services–
(i) State and Private Emergency Ambulance Services and all emergency call centres;
(ii) the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service and the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force;
(iii) Trinidad and Tobago Fire Services;
(iv) Immigration Services;
(v) the Strategic Services Agency; and
(vi) Police Complaints Authority;
(g) emergency essential janitorial and maintenance services concerning the provision of–
(i) health; (ii) hospital;
(iii) water;
(iv electricity (v) fire;
(vi) sanitation;
(vii) civil aviation; and
(viii) telecommunications;
Emergency Powers Regulations, 2021 673
(h) workers who support the operation, inspection, and maintenance of essential public works facilities and operations including:
(i) water and sewer main breaks; (ii) fleet maintenance personnel;
(iii) traffic signal maintenance; and (iv) other emergency issues;
(i) health services such as–
(i) District Medical Health Officers, Medical Social
Workers;
(ii) public and private hospitals, laboratories, infirmaries, nursing homes and hospices, funeral homes, crematoria and burial grounds;
(iii) workers and services in support of hospitals, pharmacies;
(iv) emergency veterinary services;
(v) the emergency provision of dental services; and
(vi) medical practitioners including opthalomologists registered under the Medical Board Act and employees necessary for the operations of their private practices;
(j) emergency essential janitorial and maintenance services for private condominiums or town houses, residential homes and public and private facilities;
(k) prisons, Rehabilitation Centres, Immigration Detention Centres or other places of detention;
(l) Children’s Homes, Community Residences and Rehabilitation Centres, places for the care of the differently abled, socially displaced, the elderly and geriatric homes and persons providing care at private residences;
(m) Private Security Firms and Estate Constables, Special Reserve Police and Municipal Police;
(n) care givers to the elderly and those who require care for medical reasons;
(o) support to ensure the effective removal, storage, and disposal of residential and commercial solid waste and hazardous waste;
674 Emergency Powers Regulations, 2021
to ensure–
(i) banking business and business of a financial nature, as defined in the Financial Institutions Act;
(ii) non-banks, Unit Trust Corporation, National Insurance Board and remittance facilities;
(iii) credit unions under the Cooperative Societies Act;
(iv) the processing and maintaining of systems for processing insurance and financial transactions and services (e.g., information technology, payment, clearing, and settlement, wholesale funding, insurance services and capital markets activities);
(v) the provision of consumer access to banking and lending services, including ATMs, and to move currency and payments (e.g., armored cash carriers); and
(vi) the staffing of data, technology and security operations centres;
(p) workers who are needed to support financial and insurance services such as–
(q) service providers who provide emergency services that are necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences such as plumbers, electricians, exterminators;
(r) Ministries, Departments, Statutory Authorities, State Enterprises and Agencies of Government, and Municipal Corporations, Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM), Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), Occupational Safety and Health Agency;
(s) Inland Revenue Division, the Treasury Division, the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago and the Customs and Excise Division;
(t) manufacture, transportation and logistics services which operate on a twenty-four hour basis for–
(i) employees of firms manufacturing refrigeration systems and products including those providing services that enable logistics operations, including cooling, storing, packaging, and distributing products for wholesale or retail sale or use;
Emergency Powers Regulations, 2021 675
(ii) maritime transportation workers, port workers, mariners, equipment operators;
(iii) truck drivers who haul hazardous and waste materials to support critical infrastructure, capabilities, functions, and services;
(iv) emergency automotive repair and maintenance facilities;
(v) manufacturers and distributors of food, beverages and pharmaceuticals, including the packaging and bottling of these items;
(vi) postal and shipping workers, including private companies;
(vii) employees who repair and maintain vehicles, aircraft, marine vessels, and the equipment and infrastructure that enables operations that encompass movement of cargo and passengers;
(viii) air transportation employees, including air traffic controllers, ramp personnel, aviation security, and aviation management;
(ix) workers who support the maintenance and operation of cargo by air transportation, including flight crews, maintenance, airport operations, and other on-airport and off-airport facilities workers;
(x) services connected with the loading and unloading and repair of ships and with the storage and delivery of goods at, or from, ports, docks, wharves, storage facilities and warehouses operated in connection with ports, docks or wharves; and
(xi) the provision of public transportation by water-taxi, ferry, motor vehicle, bus, including buses operated by the Public Transport Services Corporation;
(u) workers supporting newspapers and media houses;
(v) services relating to food, beverage and agriculture such as food and beverage manufacturer employees and their supplier employees who provide twenty-four hour operations–
(i) including those employed in food processing facilities;
676 Emergency Powers Regulations, 2021
(ii) at livestock, poultry, seafood slaughter facilities at pet, animal and fish processing facilities;
(iii) at human food facilities producing by-products for animal and fish food and beverage production facilities;
(iv) at the production of food packaging;
(v) including farm workers who are employed in animal and fish food, feed, and ingredient production, packaging, and distribution; manufacturing, packaging, and distribution of veterinary drugs, truck delivery and transport, farm and fishery labour needed to produce domestic food supply;
(vi) workers who must look after and feed animals at zoos, farms and animal shelters;
(vii) fishermen;
(viii) farm workers and support service workers to include those who field crops, commodity inspection, storage facilities and other agricultural inputs;
(ix) employees and firms supporting food, feed, and beverage distribution, including warehouse workers and vendor managed inventory control managers;
(x) workers supporting the sanitation of all food manufacturing processes and operations from wholesale to retail;
(xi) workers in food testing labs in private industries and in institutions of higher education;
(xii) workers essential for assistance programs and government payments, employees of companies engaged in the production of chemicals, medicines, vaccines, and other substances used by the water treatment and sanitizing industry and the food and agriculture industry, including pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, minerals, enrichments, and other agricultural production aids;
(xiii) animal agriculture workers to include those employed in veterinary health, manufacturing and distribution of animal medical materials, animal
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vaccines, animal drugs, feed ingredients, feed, and bedding, etc., transportation of live animals, animal medical materials, transportation of deceased animals for disposal, raising of animals for food, animal production operations, slaughter and packing plants and associated regulatory and government workforce;
(xiv) employees engaged in the manufacture and maintenance of equipment and other infrastructure necessary for food, agricultural production and distribution; and
(xv) workers engaged in the manufacture of alcoholic products and non-alcoholic beverages;
(xvi) workers engaged in the supply of fruit, vegetables, meat and fish to supermarkets, shops, parlours, fruit shops or stalls, vegetable shops or stalls; and
(xvii) workers engaged in the supply of marketable commodities to supermarkets, shops, parlours, fruit stalls;
(w) workers engaged in the production, manufacture and supply of medical supplies and equipment and the servicing and repair of medical equipment and other services specifically provided to the medical sector;
(x) workers for wholesale suppliers for supermarkets, groceries, markets, green grocers, bakeries, poultry depots, fish stalls or shops, fruit stalls or shops, vegetable stalls or shops, “parlours” and “corner shops” and retail membership discount stores;
(y) energy services including–
(i) those in the electricity industry such as–
(A) workers who maintain, ensure, or restore the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric power, including call centres, utility workers, reliability engineers and fleet
maintenance technicians;
(B) workers at generation, transmission, and
electric facilities;
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(C) IT and OT technology staff for EMS (Energy Management Systems) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, and utility data centres; Cybersecurity engineers; cybersecurity risk management and back-up data technology;
(D) vegetation management crews and traffic workers who support; and
(E) environmental remediation/monitoring technicians, instrumentation, protection, and control technicians;
(ii) petroleum industries such as–
(A) petroleum stations and convenience marts
attached thereto;
(B) petroleum product storage, pipeline, marine
transport, terminals, road transport;
(C) crude oil storage facilities, pipeline, and
marine transport;
(D) petroleum refinery facilities;
(E) petroleum security operations centre
employees and workers who support
emergency response services;
(F) petroleum operations control rooms or
centres;
(G) petroleum drilling, extraction, production,
processing, refining, terminal operations, transporting, and retail for use as end-use fuels or feedstocks for chemical manufacturing;
(H) companies that provide services to oil and gas services; and
(I) onshore and offshore operations for maintenance and emergency response; and
(iii) those in the natural and propane industry as gas workers, including for–
(A) natural gas transmission and distribution pipelines, including compressor stations;
(B) underground storage of natural gas;
(C) natural gas processing plants, and those that
deal with natural gas liquids;
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(D) Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facilities;
(E) natural gas security operations centre, natural gas operations dispatch and control rooms or centres natural gas emergency response and customer emergencies,
including natural gas leak calls;
(F) drilling, production, processing, refining, and
transporting natural gas for use as end-use fuels, feedstocks for chemical manufacturing, or use in electricity generation;
(G) propane gas dispatch and control rooms and emergency response and customer emergencies, including propane leak calls;
(H) propane gas service maintenance and restoration, including call centres;
(I) processing, refining, and transporting natural liquids, including propane gas, for use as end-use fuels or feedstocks for chemical manufacturing; and
(J) propane gas storage, transmission, and distribution centres;
(z) critical manufacturing such as workers necessary for the manufacturing of materials and products needed for medical supply chains, transportation, energy, communications, food, beverage and agriculture, chemical manufacturing, the operation of dams, water and wastewater treatment, emergency services, law enforcement and defence services;
(aa) chemical services such as–
(i) workers supporting the chemical and industrial gas supply chains, including workers at chemical manufacturing plants, workers in laboratories, workers at distribution facilities, workers who transport basic raw chemical materials to the producers of industrial and consumer goods, including hand sanitizers, food, beverage and food and beverage additives, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and paper products;
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(ii) workers supporting the safe transportation of chemicals, including those supporting tank truck cleaning facilities and workers who manufacture packaging items;
(iii) workers supporting the production of protective cleaning and medical solutions, personal protective equipment, and packaging that prevents the contamination of food, water, medicine, among others essential products;
(iv) workers supporting the operation and maintenance of facilities, particularly those with high risk chemicals or sites that cannot be shut down, whose work cannot be done remotely and requires the presence of highly trained personnel to ensure safe operations, including plant contract workers who provide inspections; and
(v) workers who support the production and transportation of chlorine and alkali manufacturing, single-use plastics, and packaging that prevents the contamination or supports the continued manufacture of food, water, medicine, and other essential products, including glass container manufacturing;
(ab) hotels, guest houses or econo-lodges;
(ac) the seismic research unit of the University of the West
Indies;
(ad) workers who are necessary to keep furnaces and kilns operating safely in manufacturing operations that are not captured as essential operation in this subregulation but who are needed to keep those furnaces and kilns operating for safety reasons; and
(ae) any trade, profession, business or service, activity or public gathering, authorised to be carried on by the Minister.
(6) The Commissioner of Police may by Order vary the curfew times set out in this regulation.
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5. If at any time it is impossible or impracticable to publish in the Gazette any Order in pursuance of these Regulations, the President or the Commissioner of Police may cause the same to be published by Notices thereof affixed to public buildings or distributed amongst the public or by oral public announcements.
6. (1) The Commissioner of Police or a person authorized by him in that regard, may for the purposes of ensuring the protection of public health, public safety or to public order–
(a) prohibit or restrict the possession or use by any person or body of persons of any specified articles;
(b) prohibit any person from travelling except in accordance with permission given to him by such authority or person as may be specified; and
(c) require any person to quit any place or area or not to visit any place or area.
(2) The Commissioner of Police may give directions in respect of matters under subregulation (1) through Standard Operating Procedures for the Police Service.
7. (1) Where a police officer considers that a number of people are gathered together in contravention of these Regulations, the police officer may, in addition to his power to arrest and charge such persons, alternatively–
(a) direct the gathering to disperse;
(b) direct any person in the gathering to return to the place
where he is living; or
(c) remove any person from the gathering.
(2) A police officer exercising the power in subregulation (1)(c) to remove a person from a gathering may use reasonable force, if necessary, in exercise of the power.
(3) Where a person who is in a gathering in contravention of a restriction referred to in subregulation (1) is a child accompanied by a person with responsibility for the child–
(a) the police officer may direct the person to take the child to the place where the child is living; and
(b) that person shall, so far as reasonably practicable, ensure that the child complies with any direction or instruction given by the police officer, to the child.
Publication of Orders, Notices, etc., under these Regulations
Powers exercisable by the Commissioner of Police
General powers of Police Officer
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(4) Where a police officer has reasonable grounds to believe that a child is repeatedly failing to comply with a restriction referred to in subregulation (1) the police officer may direct the person with responsibility for the child to secure, so far as reasonably practicable, that the child complies with the restriction.
(5) For the purposes of this regulation a person is a person with responsibility for a child if the person–
(a) has custody or charge of the child for the time being; or (b) is the parent or guardian of child.
8. (1) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a police officer may arrest without warrant, any person who he reasonably suspects has acted or is acting or is about to act in a manner prejudical to public health, public safety or to public order or to have committed or is committing or is about to commit an offence against these Regulations.
(2) A police office under subregulation (1), may take such steps and use such force as may appear to him to be necessary for affecting the arrest or preventing the escape of such person.
9. Where under these Regulations a female is searched, the search shall be conducted by another female.
10. The person having control of a motor vehicle in motion or driving a motor vehicle, shall, on being required to do so by a police officer in uniform, stop that motor vehicle.
11. (1) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the Chief of the Defence Staff under the Defence Act, shall hold his forces in readiness to assist, and if called upon by the Commissioner of Police, cooperate with and assist, the Commissioner of Police in the performance of his duties under these Regulations.
(2) A member of the Defence Force referred to in subregulation (1), shall, for the purposes of these Regulations, have the powers of a police officer and shall, where acting in accordance with any general or special instructions of the Chief of the Defence Staff or of any superior officer of that force given in pursuance of subregulation (1), be deemed to be acting in performance of the duties imposed on a police officer by these Regulations or by any Orders made thereunder.
Arrest
Searching of females
Obligation to stop motor vehicle
Defence Force to assist Chap. 14:01
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(3) A request of the Commissioner of Police for assistance under subregulation (1), may be made generally or with reference to some particular occasion or for some specific purpose.
12. A person who contravenes these Regulations commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and to imprisonment for six months.
13. No person shall be liable to any suit or action in respect of any act done under lawful direction and authority pursuant to the provisions of these Regulations.
14. These Regulations shall have effect during the period of public emergency.
Made this 16th day of May, 2021.
PAULA MAE-WEEKES
President
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY THE GOVERNMENT PRINTER, CARONI REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO–2021
Offences
Indemnity and compensation
Duration of Regulations
COMMENTS