Government to Adjust Time for Restocking During St. Catherine Lockdown

Government to Adjust Time for Restocking During St. Catherine Lockdown


Government to Adjust Time for Restocking During St. Catherine Lockdown

Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the Government will refine the measures for restocking during the St. Catherine Lockdown.

He says the new measures will allow more time for shopping and better promotion and enforcement of  social distancing.

The Prime Minister’s comments came yesterday (April 18), while touring areas of Portmore and Spanish Town for the purpose of evaluating the implementation of the lock-down measures.

“The number of persons shopping inside the shopping district in both Portmore and Spanish Town was overwhelming today. Normally you would have had persons leaving Portmore to shop in Kingston or who would have already shopped  in Kingston, in addition, some persons would be taking precautionary measures by stocking up. As a result  there was a greater than normal demand today and on Wednesday. We expect that this will moderate as the measures are extended,” said Prime Minister Holness.

In that regard, Prime Minister Holness stated that by Monday, the Government will review and implement more convenient measures that citizens can comply with.

The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of balancing the adjustments to be sensitive to the needs of the low-income earners who make a living through their day to day economic ventures.

Importantly, Prime Minister Holness noted that most persons in the parish have been respecting the orders and are wearing masks. He, however, observed that more social distancing should be practised.

“The appeal as always, is for us to maintain social distancing. We have asked establishments that are serving the public to at which persons should stand in relation to others. It is hard to ask people to judge three feet or six feet, but if there are markers in place, they can. I am confident that Jamaica will develop this practice in the weeks coming,” said Prime Minister Holness.

The Prime Minister also stated that understandably, it will take some time for citizens to fully appreciate and understand the rules and adjust their schedules and demands around those.

In the meantime, Prime Minister Holness applauded the work being done by the security forces in enforcing the regulations.