Noting that “there has been increased pedal cycle activity seen on the roads today,” the police have reminded people “that pedal cycling is prohibited during the Shelter in Place as “exercise has been restricted to a half mile from your home on foot.”
The police posted on social media saying, “Good afternoon all, there has been increased pedal cycle activity seen on the roads today. We need to remind you that pedal cycling is prohibited during the 14 day ‘Shelter in Place’ period.
“Exercise has been restricted to a half mile from your home on foot. We also want remind you that the railway trails, parks and beaches are also off limits regardless of the fact that they are within a half mile of your residence.
“Rolling Advisory Checks are happening throughout the day. Unless you are an essential worker [heading to and from work] going to the grocery store, gas station or pharmacy, please stay at home.”
Police Commissioner Stephen Corbishley followed up with a tweet from his account saying, “I know there is flack over this and comments over killjoys etc, but to reaffirm the Emergency Powers regulations allow only a period of exercise on foot within 1/2 mile of home and no cycling. This is about stopping Covid-19 and we all have to put up and shut up on some things.”
He added, “Covid-19 is killing people across the world. The only way to stop this is to do dramatic things.”
The regulations state that during the Shelter in Place people can go “for a walk or run, alone or with one other member of the same household, for a maximum period of sixty minutes per day during the hours of 7am to 7pm only, remaining at all times within a distance of one kilometre [half a mile] from his home.”
While the police urging people to stop pedal cycling may sound unusual and would be wholly out of place under normal circumstances, it comes as the island has declared a State of Emergency in a bid to stop the spread of the pandemic which continues to impact nations around the world, with the global death toll climbing at a rate of thousands of people per day.
