State of emergency in effect in St John’s

Text and photos by Gemma Handy

Tough new measures to halt the spread of the coronavirus were in evidence in St John’s on Monday, the first day of work since they came into effect.

From clothes stores to nail bars, numerous non-essential shops could be seen closed to the public. Many more selling food and other essential items, along with crucial services like banks, remained open for business.

But despite several outlets urging customers to practice social distancing, queues of people could be seen lined up outside some.

Many residents were also seen wearing face masks in a bid to protect themselves from the Covid-19 pandemic which has now infected more than 780,000 people across the world.