Jamaica to remain under 7-days lockdown

According to the government, only essential workers would be allowed to leave their homes for going to their services during the noted 7 days of lockdown

20th of August 2021

Jamaica: Citizens of St James follows COVID-19 protocols to mitigate the spread

From Sunday, Jamaica will remain under the strict 7 days lockdown. The decision was taken after Jamaica discovers 22 cases of Delta variant. Jamaica is under the third wave of COVID-19 on the island.

PM Andrew Holness, on August 19, during a press conference, announced that there would be no movement in the country for the coming 7 days from Sunday.

PM Announced the no-movement days:-
Sunday, August 22;
Monday, August 23;
Tuesday, August 24;
Sunday, August 29;
Monday, August 30;
Tuesday, August 31;
Sunday, September 5.

According to the government, only essential workers would be allowed to leave their homes for going to their services during the noted 7 days of lockdown. The essential services include pharmacies and hospitals that would remain open during those seven days of lockdown.

PM Holness said, “We have to prevent further transmission and the most effective way of slowing down transmission is to have a complete halt at a point. Stop movement. That’s what it comes down to simply.”

PM Holness said that to facilitate the implementation of the new measures, the curfew would get extended on Friday, August 20 and Saturday, August 21.

From August 25 to September 7, no funerals would be allowed to take place, and burials should have a maximum capacity of 15 persons.

PM Holness said, “The tighter measures we have introduced are necessary because our rising case numbers and hospitalisations are beyond the capacity of our public health system. I urge all Jamaicans to co-operate and to do their part. We all need to work together to get this third wave under control so that we can start opening schools.”

Jamaica received some 208,000 doses of vaccines from the United States. PM Holness said the country recently had sufficient supply to increase the country’s vaccination numbers substantially.

While warning the citizens, Prime Minister Holness said, “we will have no choice but to introduce further measures to restrict movement, which will inevitably have an adverse impact on the economy and our livelihoods.”