"The Territory-wide curfew is now in place and will remain in place until 6:00 a.m. on Thursday, 2 April. All of you should now be in your homes. And you should now not leave them until next Thursday," Governor Jaspert said in a statement released 8:00pm last evening Friday.

He said unless a person is an essential worker, they will be required to stay at home continuously until the end of the Curfew, meaning, that for this entire period, not one should be on the streets at any time during the day or night.

"This applies to everyone. My family and I are at home and will remain at home for the duration of the curfew. I will only leave my home for essential business. Cabinet will be meeting almost daily, but meeting remotely to ensure that we are also following the critical guidance," he said.

The Governor also noted that essential staff should only be out when they are on duty and that the curfew will still apply to all as Police will be patrolling and will enforce the laws and can arrest for breach of the curfew if necessary.

Difficult times - Gov Jaspert

According to the Governor, "We know this is difficult but these measures we are taking through Cabinet are driven by one motivation; to protect you and to protect the overall population of the Territory. This is our best chance to reduce the risk that the Coronavirus spreads in our Territory."

He said the better those in the territory comply with staying at home, is the better the chance that COVID-19 disrupt the lives of people.

"Once again, I want to thank all staff in our public and statutory agencies for all that they are doing. In particular, I thank our dedicated health teams and all in the police service as well," he said.

The total curfew was announced by Premier and Minister of Finance, Hon Andrew A. Fahie (R1) after the Territory recorded its first two cases of COVID-19 on March 25, 2020.