Turks and Caicos launched a plan this month to reopen beaches while implementing strict social distancing guidelines.
Despite the beaches opening, international borders will continue being closed until June 1st, says the Turks and Caicos government.
Beaches are open for “fitness and recreation” purposes and there must not be gatherings with more than four adults.
This week, retail grocery stores , hardware stores and key government departments also reopened. Restaurants are also allowed to serve food as long as it’s takeaway service only.
Businesses with offices are only allowed four or less employees in the office at a time.
Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, Premier of Turks and Caicos says, “We are taking a phased approach to reopen certain sectors while we monitor the impact of these sectors on the spread of the virus.”
Cartwright-Robinson goes on to say, “As mentioned earlier, this may require a quick rollback where necessary. The start date and the allowable activities in the next phase of the reopening will always continue to be guided by Health.”
Residents will be following a night-time curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. each day until May 25th.
The shelter-in place order lasted for a month and residents over the age of 65 are still strongly encouraged to continue sheltering in place.
Turks and Caicos’ decision to slowly reopen comes after Anguilla lifted it’s lockdown and reported no active COVID-19 cases.