BY ALEX DADAMU
More than 500 officers of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) will be engaged in the upcoming Lockdown exercise from Sunday 29 to Tuesday 31 August.
This was according to the RSIPF Commissioner, Mostyn Mangau when speaking at a talkback on Sunday.
According to Mr. Mangau, 10 checkpoints will be set up in certain strategic locations in the Honiara emergency zone.
He added that there will be 6 compliance or patrol teams who will be patrolling the lockdown zone to ensure the lockdown order is enforced.
Commissioner Mangau reminded the general public stating that lockdown is a legal exercise approved by the government and anyone caught breaching the order will be held accountable.
According to Attorney General, John Muria Junior, the maximum penalty for breaching the lockdown order is 10,000 fine or 5 years imprisonment.
AG Muria said that in case anyone still questions the constitutionality of the lockdown orders made by the Prime Minister, the High Court on the 3rd of June ruled that the lockdown orders made by the Prime Minister under the COVID-19 Emergency Powers are legally valid under the constitution.
it is understood that the lockdown will be observed across the Honiara emergency zone (Alligator Creek to Poha Bridge) starting at 6 pm on Sunday 29th to 6 am on Tuesday 31st August 2021.
This will be the third COVID-19 lockdown exercise for the Honiara emergency zone and the first for this year.
According to a government statement, the lockdown is to test and sharpen the country’s preparation and response plans in light of the increasing trend of the deadly COVID-19 delta variant that is becoming a serious threat to countries across the globe and region.
The lockdown is also important to the country’s preparation for limited re-opening of flights.
The government, through the National Disaster Council (NDC), confirms the Lockdown plan was recently reviewed and takes into account lessons from two lockdowns last year and the emerging delta variant. The review was done by the National Disaster Operations Committee (NDOC) along with stakeholders and donor partners.
“The lockdown is vital to maintain operation alertness and sharpen the response capabilities of frontline agencies as the country continues to manage COVID-19 and should there be community transmission,” the statement stated.
