The Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association  has welcomed the new lockdown measures announced by Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley on Thursday, calling it “commendable and understandable” in order to deal with the spike in Covid-19 cases.

Beginning midnight until May 23rd, restaurants, bars, malls, places of worship, gyms, spas, hair salons, casinos, cinemas and theatres will remain closed. The public service will operate on essential service only. Limited flights will be available to Tobago and the sea bridge will operate at 25% capacity.

In a statement, TTMA CEO Dr. Mahindra Ramdeen said:”It is alarming that 328 persons were recorded as infected today. The behavior of ourselves in a pandemic needs to be in check and so the spiral rise of infected person is not acceptable. Therefore, the TTMA is in agreement that drastic measures are needed to retract the curve as mentioned by the honorable Prime Minister.”

Dr. Ramdeen further stated that the manufacturing sector, for the most part, is self regulating, adding: “I am confident we would continue to do all that we can to put all measures in place to safeguard our workers and ourselves from the exposure to the virus. At the same time, allowing manufacturing to remain open would not only allow for maintenance of jobs, production and manufacturing, it will allowed for the continued earning of the valued Foreign Exchange for the country.”

The TTMA is hopeful that this short-term measure will bring the desire result and normal business operations can be resumed thereafter.

“I am making a passionate plea to the manufacturing sector of the economy to continue to be as vigilant as they have been thus far, continue to secure the lives of your most valued resource – your human resource and adhere to the measures the government has put in place to curb the spread of the virus in our blessed country,” the TTMA CEO said.