Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 29, 2020 (ZIZ News): Bus drivers have the right to put out any passenger who does not follow the guidelines of wearing a mask while using public transportation.
That’s according to Divisional Commander for District A, Superintendent Cromwell Henry.
He made at the time responding to a question at the Daily Covid 19 Briefing on Wednesday where a bus driver expressed concern that passengers would enter a bus wearing a mask but would then remove it.
Superintendent Henry said the driver can ask the person to leave the vehicle.
“The bus driver, he can stop the vehicle if he finds persons are removing the mask once they begin to move, to drive,” he said. “He can stop the vehicle and ask them to alight or he can drive them to the nearest police station and ask the police to remove them from the vehicle. So yes you can put the passenger off the bus if they insist on not wearing the mask”.
He also reminded the public that each person is responsible for following the regulations set out for the State of Emergency and the individual passengers would face the penalty if they break the law.
“Each person is liable for their actions,” he said. “They are responsible for their actions and so if they breach the regulation, the person who breaches the regulation is the person who is responsible. The regulation requires that every person wears a mask. So if the police find you without a mask you are the one who is liable not the bus driver.”
Public transportation resumes on Thursday and Friday during days of limited operations and bus drivers have been asked to assist in enforcing the regulations.
However Superintendent Henry repeated that each person is responsible for following the regulations or face the consequences.