Quarantine breach charges against a Prospect man have been dropped after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions offered no evidence against him, prompting concern from Magistrate Angelyn Hernandez about public perception that “these matters are not being taken seriously”.
Appearing before the Summary Court on Tuesday, 2 Nov., Patricio Rio was due to enter a plea to a single count of breaching his quarantine conditions by “permitting a person to visit a place of quarantine contrary to regulation 7 of the Prevention, Control and Suppression of COVID-19 Regulations 2020”.
The charge stems from an incident on 7 March, at Rio’s Prospect address, when a medical compliance officer from the Public Health Department observed a female visitor sitting on Rio’s porch for an extended period of time.
According to court documents, Rio was observed on his porch sitting across from a female who was more than 6 feet away from him. Rio was wearing a face mask and his geofencing bracelet, and the woman was maskless.
The woman told officers she had visited Rio at least six times prior to 7 March 2021, to drop off items, and would spend a minimum of 15 minutes, and would sit on the porch each time more than 6 feet away from him, the documents stated.
Before Rio could enter his plea, prosecutor Sarah Lewis offered no evidence against him.
“The Crown’s position is that they would like to withdraw the charges against the defendant,” said Lewis.
Regulation 7 of the Prevention, Control and Suppression of CoVID-19 Regulations 2020, states that “With the exception of the Medical Officer of Health or a person authorised by the Medical Officer of Health for the purposes of surveillance or management of a person in quarantine or isolation, no person shall visit or be permitted to visit (a) a place or facility of quarantine or isolation…”.
A person who is convicted of violating this regulation could face a $2,000 fine and six months in prison.
Hernandez, who was presiding over the matter, questioned the prosecution’s decision and expressed concerns about how the matter would be viewed by the public.
“The Crown is aware that there were multiple visits prior to the incident of 7 March,” said Lewis. “However, the difficulty is that we are unable to prove that those visits did not comply with the regulations.”
In response, as she officially discharged Rio, Hernandez said, “This is why the public believes nothing is being done, and that these matters are not being taken seriously.”
Other quarantine breach cases
In September, Health Minister Sabrina Turner reported that, as of August 2021, 52 suspected breaches were reported by Travel Cayman and these were being investigated.
However, Police Commissioner Derek Byrne has since confirmed that the majority of those cases do not meet “the evidential threshold required” by the ODPP and therefore the majority of those cases have been closed.
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