Rick’s Cafe in Jamaica closed for 7 days for breaking the law

Jamaica: In a press release, Ministery of Rural Development and Local Government stated that the famous entertainment venue of Western Jamaica “Rick’s Cafe” has been closed for seven coming days by the authorities for permitting an illegal party there.

Desmond McKenzie, Minister of Rural Development and Local Government said that Rick’s Cafe would remain closed for seven days for breaching the order under the Disaster Risk Management Act.

Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management and Police will make sure the closure orders are being enforced on the Rick’s Cafe. The management of the cafe has been summoned for the meeting with the Ministry and ODPEM on Monday.

Officials said that it is well known that all activities of this sort are banned from last years from the starting of the COVID-19 pandemic . The Westmoreland Municipal Corporation has also not permitted the cafe for this event. From the previous year, Municipal has not issued any order for this type of event that can be a super spreader in future.

The Officials of Ministery said that these breaches are accompanied by heavy fines of 1 million US dollars and up to one year in prison on conviction.

Minister McKenzie said while the government is resolute about protecting public health, it is not unmindful of the economic impact of the pandemic on all levels of the entertainment sector that they do understand the pain from the fallout. They are not indifferent to the sacrifices made by people in the sector and by those who depend on them. He has been meeting with the representatives of the sector, and very shortly, Prime Minister will be having consultation with them as well. He calls for good sense of prevail, as they must navigate this pandemic in a way that ensures their collective survival and recovery.

The new cases in Jamaica have reached the number of 108, with an average of 73 new cases every week. The cases started decreasing from March 22 2021. The current death count in Jamaica is 936.