KINGSTON, Jamaica— The Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) says it will only be facilitating St Catherine commuters travelling in and out of the parish who are regarded as essential workers, during the current parish-wide curfew. 

Other commuters travelling within the parish on selected days under the curfew will be able to traffic inside its boundaries within the hours allowed to meet certain needs.

The bus company, in a statement a short while ago, said that the decision was taken following last night’s announcement by the Government of a week-long lockdown of the parish, following the discovery of 31 new cases of the Coronavirus/Covid-19 disease at one Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company in Portmore on Tuesday.

Deputy Managing Director in charge of Operations, Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Godphey Sterling, says persons who are non-essential workers will be accommodated, to pursue the essentials of life within the parish within the stipulated time.

He says while the hours of operations for the JUTC remain unchanged, commuters in Spanish Town and Portmore should take note of the following:

(1) Between the hours of 5 am and 8 am today, only personnel in the essential services may ride the buses with appropriate identification.

(2) Between 8 am and 10 am only persons 65 yrs and older, pregnant persons and the disabled may ride the buses within the parish of St Catherine.

(3) Between 10 am and 1:30 pm, persons with surnames beginning with the letters A to M may ride the buses with appropriate identification.

(4) Between 1:30 pm and 5 pm persons with surnames beginning with the letters N to Z may ride the buses with appropriate identification.

(5) JUTC is prepared to provide a shuttle type service within the municipality of Portmore between areas of commerce and population centres, between the hours of 8 am and 5 pm, provided there is a demand.

(6) We will review these measures, where necessary, and adjust accordingly as we continue to monitor the situation.

He public bus company said that during the one-week lockdown, there will be two days to pursue the essentials of life. Medical emergencies will be treated with as they arise. These days are Wednesday, April 15, and Saturday, April 18.

“We are appealing to persons who are not classified as first responders or essential workers, to stay home as we work towards containing COVID-19,” the statement said.

Balford Henry