The enhanced COVID-19 measures for the parish of Westmoreland previously announced by Prime Minister Andrew Holness will be extended until Friday, January 15, 2021.
Westmoreland remains the parish with the highest number of cases per population. The cases are spread across the parish involving more than 30 communities. New cases are arising weekly from several communities across the parish. The Savanna la mar Hospital is beyond its COVID-19 isolation capacity and the general hospital capacity is near alert level. The number of moderate to severely ill patients in the Western Regional Health Authority’s hospitals are more than other regions, so there is limited capacity for any increase in cases.
Therefore in keeping with the Disaster Risk Management (Enforcement Measure) Number 16 (Amendment) (No.4) Order 2020, the curfew hours for Westmoreland will begin at 7:00 p.m. on December 31, 2020 and end at 5:00 a.m. on January 15, 2021, with persons allowed to move about between 5:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. each day. During the period, gatherings in a public place should not exceed 10 persons and markets and vending in public arcades and public transportation centres are only allowed during the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
Additionally, between December 31, 2020 and January 15, 2021, public transportation authorized by the Transport Authority Act will be allowed to operate between 4:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. with no passengers being transported between the hours of 4:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Jamaicans are again reminded that they must take personal responsibility to protect themselves, their loved ones, their communities and the country. The pandemic is not over and Jamaicans must continue to strictly observe all the infection prevention and control protocols including maintaining a physical distance of at least six feet from each other, staying at home, avoiding crowds, frequently washing and sanitising hands and cleaning of surfaces, wearing masks and obeying quarantine and isolation orders as given by the public health authorities.