Premier Andrew Fahie said gave that indication last Friday while outlining reasons for his government’s COVID-19 Control & Suppression (Miscellaneous Provision) Act, which forces persons into a mandatory two-week quarantine if travelling from these countries.

Speaking in the House of Assembly, Fahie said: “The only reason we came here with the bill is there were those when the borders were closed started to argue legal points that the country cannot shut out its nationals. It became a legal discussion and a legal argument, so what happened is [that] some of our own people pushed back at the government legally that they have to be able to come home.”

“So we said to them, ‘alright, although we closed our borders, only nationals can come home, but you have to agree to be quarantined’,” he added.

Premier said some residents complied while others continued to spout legal arguments, stating that there was no law that makes it mandatory for them to be quarantined.

He said there were ‘some’ unnamed members of the House of Assembly who supported the action of the persons in question.

“If I had my way, they wouldn’t have reached back at all! I ain’t afraid to tell them,” Premier Fahie said.

He, however, told the House of Assembly that none of these individuals was among those who had tested positive for the disease when they returned to the BVI.