Jamaica Government Announces New Curfew Hours, Effective June 30

KINGSTON, Jamaica June 30,2020 — Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, has announced new curfew measures for the month of July.

Speaking at a virtual press conference at Jamaica House, yesterday, the Prime Minister said the new curfew times will begin at 11:00 p.m. on June 30, to 5:00 a.m. July 1, 2020, and will continue daily, until 5:00 a.m. on July 31.

The current nightly curfew Orders, with curfew times between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., will come to an end today, June 30.

“As of July 1, 2020, we will continue to take a risk-based, management approach, which is evidence-based, measured and proportionate,” Holness said.

“The objective continues to be the need to reduce the exposure risk of the population to COVID-19, while increasing the capacity of the public health system to respond to cases, within the population,” he added.

For weeks, the government has put curfew measures in place, as part of its strategy to reduce the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Jamaica.

There are now 698 persons confirmed with COVID-19, with 521 persons, who have recovered. Two persons tested positive in the last 24 hours.

As the country continues to relax coronavirus (COVID- 19) restrictions, public gatherings have been increased to a maximum of 20 persons, for the next two weeks.

In March, when the government started implementing measures to contain and reduce the spread of the virus, public gatherings was reduced to no more than 20 persons, and was further restricted to no more than 10 persons, when the cases started increasing.

But, with 553 recoveries and 145 active cases, the Prime Minister said that the gathering rule has been reinstated to a maximum of 20 persons.

“This will apply up to July 14, 2020,” he explained, noting that the measure is being given a two-week run to assess its effectiveness for a longer implementation period.

He noted that the gathering rule “has been a very important rule in the management of the pandemic, and we are at the stage that we believe that we can increase the gathering numbers”.

Holness emphasised that for any gathering, the COVID-19 protocols must be maintained, which include social distancing, hand sanitising or hand washing and the wearing of masks.

“Do your own surveillance. Look for people, who are coughing and sneezing and stay away from them, and if you are ill, stay home,” the Prime Minister advised.