SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — Commanding officer for the Westmoreland Police Division, Superintendent Robert Gordon, has commended residents of the parish for obeying the curfew hours imposed almost two weeks ago.

According to Gordon, there has been almost full compliance by residents as it relates to obeying the 7:00 pm to 5:00 am daily curfew that was imposed on December 16.

“There have been no major incidents [since the curfew was imposed]. I must commend the people of Westmoreland because of their level of compliance. At minimum we had a 90 per cent compliance to the current curfew.

“There have so far been four prosecutions and 26 warnings issued,” said Gordon.

He told the Jamaica Observer that on Christmas Eve there were a few hairdressing parlours and a bar that were open beyond the curfew hours. However, when the operators were instructed to close their businesses, they complied.

Gordon noted that many individuals were left stranded on the roads, especially in the town of Whitehouse, as all public passenger vehicles were off the road. He said the police assisted in transporting many of the residents to their destinations.

“We had persons stranded in Whitehouse who were from St Elizabeth and so we did our best to assist as best as we could,” said Gordon.

He declared that the police will continue their efforts to keep order in the parish as the traditional party period of New Year’s Eve approaches.

“This includes going out from early and using town criers to remind persons of the close-off times, tracking events and issuing warnings, and once it touches 6:30 pm the team rolls out for prosecution.

“So far, this strategy has been working, so we will continue,” said Gordon who had previously told the Observer that his team was tracking the more than 30 illegal parties advertised to be staged in the parish during the Yuletide season.

At that time, Gordon appealed to the residents to observe the rules, as he argued that parties were creating additional challenges in the parish for the cops and were contributing to the surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in the parish.

“We want to urge persons to be caring and understanding of how their actions are affecting their loved ones and the society as a whole,” Gordon stated then.

While other parishes are under a 10:00 pm to 5:00 am curfew for most days, residents of Westmoreland are faced with a 7:00 pm to 5:00 am curfew because of a spike in the number of COVID-19-positive cases in the parish.

The Westmoreland curfew is scheduled to end at 5:00 am on December 31.

The entire island will be under a 7:00 pm to 5:00 am curfew for Friday, New Year’s Day.