Fines of $25,000 for failing to report notifiable diseases and new powers to close premises posing an immediate and serious health risk without first obtaining a court order are among changes in the revised Public Health and Environmental Health bills.
The previously withdrawn Environmental Health Bill and Public Health Bill have been redrafted and will be considered at the next sitting of parliament, which begins on 18 November.
The bills were withdrawn on 2 October by health minister Katherine Ebanks-Wilks to allow further amendments following public consultation and input from opposition members.
The revised versions were published in Legislation Gazette No. 50, dated 20 October.
The two bills were part of a four-part package of health legislation that included the Tobacco (Amendment) Bill and the Health Practice (Amendment) (No 2) Bill, both passed by parliament.
Environmental Health Bill
Water quality
The updated Environmental Health Bill includes provisions on water quality that did not exist in the August version.
Part 8 makes the director of environmental health responsible for monitoring and regulating water supplies, and requires potable water from every source to meet applicable standards.
It also makes it an offence to supply potable water contaminated to a level likely to harm health, or to cause or permit potable water to become contaminated.
The penalty is a fine of CI$10,000, two years’ imprisonment, or both.
The offence applies to any water source, whether or not the water is supplied for payment.
Temporary closure orders
In the August version of the bill, premises that posed a serious health risk could be closed only by a Grand Court order, for up to six months.
The revised bill adds temporary closure orders that can be issued by the director for up to 14 days without applying to court.
This power would apply where there is an immediate and serious risk that only a closure order could manage.
The director must give reasons in writing and send a copy to the commissioner of police, and a constable may use reasonable force.
Breaching an order carries a fine of $5,000, 12 months’ imprisonment, or both. If the risk continues, the director may apply to the Grand Court for a closure order.
Rules for entering premises
The notice rules for officers entering premises have been rewritten. The August draft required six hours’ notice or a magistrate’s warrant, for dwelling houses only.
The October bill requires at least 24 hours’ written notice before entry as of right to any premises.
Entering a “residential property” would require that notice and the occupier’s consent, or a magistrate’s warrant.
The director could authorise earlier entry, without a warrant if necessary, in an emergency involving imminent danger to life or a serious risk to public health, or where immediate action is needed to prevent or remediate a statutory nuisance.
NCC removed
A clause requiring the director to consult the National Conservation Council before action that may adversely affect the environment or a protected natural resource is not in the October bill.
Public Health Bill
Disease-reporting fines
Under the updated Public Health Bill, the fine for failing to report a notifiable disease, a deceased carrier or a laboratory finding rises from $2,000 to $25,000 “for each instance in which a report is not submitted”.
Other fines also rise. Breaching an urgent-measures notice, issued to a person believed to be the carrier of a notifiable disease, carries up to six months’ imprisonment or a $5,000 fine (up from a $2,000 fine), or both.
Ignoring a notice to provide information, or giving false information, rises from $1,000 to $3,000, and continues to run the risk of six months’ imprisonment.
The fine for handling food while infected also rises, from $1,000 to $3,000, and continues to run the risk of three months’ imprisonment.
The offence now applies where the person knows, or ought reasonably to know, the disease is likely to be transmitted through food, where the August text applied where the person knows they are infected or a carrier.
Declaring a national threat
Under the August text, the chief medical officer advised Cabinet that a public health incident of national threat was imminent.
Under the October text, the Public Health Risk Emergency Committee advises Cabinet, and the chief medical officer conveys his or her opinion to the committee.
The August list of ways to tell the public, which included the National Emergency Notification System, radio, newspaper and the Gazette, has been replaced by a simplified requirement that the declaration be communicated to the public.
Data Protection Act
The August clause on health statistics and surveillance data required compliance with the Data Protection Act (2021 Revision). The October clause does not refer to the act.
The revised bill adds that annual public health statistics must present “anonymised aggregate data”.
