The Government of Kiribati (GoK), through the Ministry of Health and Medical Services’ (MHMS) Public Health Infectious Disease regulation (regulation 17 & 22) issued a curfew order for South Tarawa and Betio effective from Thursday 20 May 2021. The curfew is effective from 9pm – 6am daily and will remain until further order is issued by GoK. This comes after Kiribati registered its first 2 cases of Covid-19 in quarantine earlier this week.
The order requires that all persons must remain at their home of residence from 9pm to 6am daily. This means that activities like night fishing, and social gatherings are prohibited, and Kava bars, nightclubs, restaurants, and bingo centres will be closed. Only persons seeking medical, police or fire emergency services will be excused from movement within the curfew hours. All Church leaders have also been advised to plan for their church services/ prayers and to ensure that they comply with all social distancing requirements.
All arms of government (government agencies) and private businesses have been instructed to maintain their operations as usual outside of the curfew hours and to avoid restrictions on sale of goods that would cause the public to panic. Only essentials service providers are allowed to operate during the curfew hours with prior approval from the Office of the Beretitenti (OB) through the Kiribati Police Service.
AII travels from South Tarawa and Betio to the outer islands and vice versa are currently suspended. Only goods, fuels, medicines, and patients’ referrals will be allowed. Travels other than those mentioned here will require the approval of the Secretary of the OB.
The curfew order does not impact the Tourism Authority of Kiribati’s (TAK) daily operational hours and tourism business operators in the affected areas are encouraged to contact TAK should they require clarification on the curfew order. All planned TAK events are currently suspended until further notice.
