KINGSTON, Jamaica, Tuesday March 31, 2020 – In an effort to prevent community spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), Government will impose an island wide nighttime curfew from tomorrow, for a one-week period. The April 1-8 curfew will run from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. each day in the country which has now reported 36 COVID-19 cases, including one death and one person who has recovered. Making the announcement at a press conference yesterday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness warned residents that police have been instructed to enforce the curfew. “We discussed with the commissioner of police an increase in the enforcement of the orders. With the curfew will come general enforcement, but for all the other orders during the period of time allowed for work and travel, the police will increase their vigilance and prosecution of persons who violate the order,” he said. Holness said the matter was discussed at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting where the current policies in place to address the COVID-19 epidemic were reviewed. He said it was decided that additional measures were necessary, “given where we are”. “We have gotten reports from right across the island and it is clear that whilst there was a fairly high level of compliance to the various orders that were made over the last two weeks, that over the weekend, we recognized that there is an increase in movement,” he said. “This increase in movement has come at a time when we are expecting that there would be a greater probability for infections, given the fact that we have had coming into the island, close to 7,000 visitors, residents and Jamaicans… who we cannot say, with certainty, were faithful to the quarantine rules.” Holness said the challenge with this is that it could be the precursor to community spread of COVID-19. In keeping with this, the decision was made to impose the all-island curfew. The Prime Minister said Government is expecting a rise in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases. Read more: http://www.caribbean360.com/news/covid-19-nighttime-curfew-imposed-in-jamaica#ixzz6IJ5aTHRuRelated Articles
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