KINGSTON, Jamaica – Beginning tomorrow, April 1, Jamaicans will be under an all-island curfew to limit the spread of COVID-19.
The curfew will run nightly, from 8 PM to 6 AM, beginning on April 1 and ending on April 8.
The prime minister said the Cabinet took the decision to impose the curfew as, while a majority of Jamaicans have been adhering to restrictions in movement, there was a noticeable increase in movement throughout the country on the weekend.
He said it came at a time when close to 7,000 people, including Jamaicans, recently came into the country from overseas. With uncertainty about whether they have been observing the mandatory 14-day quarantine rule, Holness said they could be spreading the virus in the general population.
Jamaica has to date recorded 36 cases of COVID-19, one of which involves a healthcare worker. One person has died from complications from the disease.
Currently, the Jamaican airports are still closed to all incoming passenger travel meaning Jamaican nationals overseas, looking to return home, will have to wait until April 7. The Jamaican Ambassador to the US, Audrey Marks recently blasted “hard of hearing” Jamaicans in the United States that are still showing up to airports, in hopes of going home.
