KINGSTON, Jamaica— The communities of Waterford in St Catherine and Whitfield Town in St Andrew have been placed under enhanced curfew measures beginning today, after seeing an exponential rise in COVID-19 cases.

Whitfield Town has 21 active cases and Waterford 24, and five deaths, Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced.

He said while the cases in Kingston and St Andrew and St Catherine are spread across communities, there are some communities that are particularly affected and show a high concentration of cases. Special measures targeted at controlling the spread of the virus in these densely populated and highly trafficked communities are being implemented.

As such, these communities will have longer periods of curfew, reduced gathering limits, and strict enforcement of all COVID protocols.

“In these areas people are allowed to undertake necessary productive activities such as going to work, taking public transport, carrying out their essential activities of daily living such as shopping, visiting the doctor and carrying on their business activities,” Holness said.

The measures include:

1. The curfew will start at 6:00 pm today, October 6, to 5:00 am the following day, each day, ending at 5:00 am on October 20, 2020. During curfew hours, only essential workers with identification will be allowed to enter or exit.

2. The gathering limit will be no more than six persons in any public place from October 7 to October 19.

3. All the other existing restrictions such as mask wearing and  physical distancing will be strictly enforced.

Holness said these actions will be underpinned by increasing public education and awareness through extensive community engagement.

The Whitfield Town curfew area of interest spans approximately 0.7 sq. km and is bounded by a 3.8 km perimeter.

The northern boundary will run from its start point, which is the intersection of Waltham Park Road and Langard Avenue and then continue north-easterly along Langard Avenue to its intersection with Creighton Avenue, and then easterly along Creighton Avenue and then on to Delacree Road to its intersection with Maxfield Avenue.

The eastern boundary will start from the intersection of Delacree Road and Maxfield Avenue and will continue in a south-westerly direction along Maxfield Avenue to its intersection with Spanish Town Road.

The southern boundary will start from the intersection of Maxfield Avenue and Spanish Town Road and will continue in a north-westerly direction along Spanish Town Road to its intersection with Waltham Park Road.

The western boundary will start from the intersection of Spanish Town Road and Waltham Park Road and will continue in a northerly direction along Waltham Park Road to the start point at its intersection with Langard Avenue.

For the Waterford curfew area, the area of interest spans approximately 0.9 sq. km and is bounded by a 4.2 km perimeter.

The northern boundary will run from its start point, which is the intersection of Caymanas Drive and Adair Drive, and then continue north-easterly along Adair Drive to the water drain (that runs parallel to Dyke Road).

The eastern boundary will continue along Adair Drive in a south-easterly direction to the perimeter wall of Waterford High School.

The southern boundary will continue from Waterford High School in a south-westerly direction along Passagefort Drive to its intersection with Myrtle Way.

The western boundary will continue from the intersection of Passagefort Drive and Myrtle Way and will continue due north on to Caymanas Drive to its intersection with Adair Drive.

Holness said Kingston and St Andrew and St Catherine account for almost 70 per cent of the new COVID-19 cases in September.  Outside of St James, which started to see a rise in the latter half of September, the number of cases in the other parishes depicts slow transmission throughout the month.

“Kingston and St Andrew and St Catherine represent the most densely populated areas in the country and there is a potential for exponential rise in these parishes. Therefore enhanced measures must be employed in these parishes,” Holness said.