Who Are Essential Services, Does Your Job Qualify?

Michael Peyrefitte

The media is considered an essential service and will continue to function during the state of emergency.  Attorney General Michael Peyrefitte expressly described a number of organizations and businesses that are also considered essential services which will be allowed to remain open during the day.  He was also clear in stating that persons employed under any of these services can only traverse from home to work during these hours.

Michael Peyrefitte, Attorney General

“You can only move during the day, this is from five a.m. to eight p.m., to purchase essential needs, to attend medical or veterinary attention, medical emergencies or you‘re an essential worker going to or from work.  Included in these are security guards patrolling, agricultural or factory workers or other similar operations requiring the movement of personnel for the effective conduct of business or operations.  You can do these during the non-curfew hours but you must be moving for those purposes.  If you’re not moving for those purposes you will be committing an offense under the act.  Now, an essential service is listed in the first schedule, these are the people who will be allowed to be out and about even during the curfew hours which is, as we said, eight p.m. to five a.m. the next day, government offices, medical and auxiliary services, private security services, public utility workers, social workers authorized to respond to emergencies, sanitation workers, productive sectors which involve people who have to produce agricultural products and potable water.  Essential services are also the government offices, departments, statutory bodies and state-owned companies.  If they have to be opened for that particular time during the curfew hours they will be allowed to do so.  Now, between the hours of five a.m. and seven p.m., fuel stations and fuel depots, public transportation and providers, bakeries and tortilla factories, mills and other factories, farms, port operations and services connected with the loading and unloading of ships and aircrafts, delivery at and from ports.”