Jamaica has joined a number of countries around the world that have started lifting some COVID-19 restrictions, but the Government is playing cautious by keeping the emergency brake engaged.

In a late evening address to the nation on Tuesday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced that, with Jamaica’s COVID-19 numbers moving in the right direction, the time has come to relax some of the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA) restrictions which were implemented to arrest the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The prime minister added that a further relaxation of the measures could come in three weeks, by March 17, while the entertainment sector will know how it will be allowed to reopen after an announcement which should come following next Monday’s meeting of the Cabinet.

“Based on the latest reports from this morning, Jamaica recorded 36 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday (Monday) and our test positivity rate was 4.4 per cent. Our daily case count has been decreasing steadily and is now back to the level we had in mid-December 2021, or prior to the start of our fourth wave,” Holness said.

“Our average number of daily new hospital admissions has also been declining. Our COVID-19 hospitalisations are now less than 50 per cent of our COVID bed capacity,” added Holness as he sought to explain the reasons for the relaxation of the measures.

He argued that the science and the data support a further widening of the guard rails to allow more economic and social activities.

Holness announced that the Cabinet met on Monday and decided that, effective this Friday, February 25, the changes would include an extension of the start of the curfew hours from 11:00 pm to midnight daily, ending at 5:00 am the following morning.

In addition, the maximum of 20 people allowed to attend funerals and burials would be increased to 100, although the restriction for these to be held only weekdays between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm would remain.

Public sector entities will now be allowed to have 100 people at functions they host, up from 50, while 100 people will be allowed at weddings and annual general meetings.

In a major change. Holness said effective next Tuesday, March 1, the requirement to obtain travel authorisation to come to Jamaica from overseas will be eliminated.

“However we are, at this time, maintaining the existing pre-test requirement for a negative PCR (polymerase chain reaction) or antigen test conducted within three days prior to travel. We are aware that obtaining pre-test is becoming more difficult and expensive in some jurisdictions. We are therefore reviewing whether or not we should maintain this requirement or modify it,” added Holness in what is expected to provide a ray of hope for players in the tourism industry who have argued that this requirement has been a stumbling block to the post-COVID-19 recovery of the sector.

Holness also announced that people coming to Jamaica, including those returning home, will no longer face quarantine requirements, although the Government is strongly recommending that they restrict their movements for five days and avoid people who might be vulnerable.

But isolation requirements will remain in place for people who test positive for COVID-19, and children will still have to wear masks in schools when full face-to-face classes resume after the upcoming midterm break.

“We should bear in mind that the pandemic is not over, and though we acknowledge the high level of fatigue in the society, we have to gradually widen the guard rails. We have an objective which is of great importance, and that objective is to get our children back in school after the midterm holidays…

“Therefore, we have to be very careful at this period of time not to open up too much and, God forbid, there is a resurgence. So we all have to still exercise caution and patience to give the children the priority to get back in to school. We have three weeks of these measures left, and then at the end of three weeks it is quite likely that we will bring the measures to an end,” declared Holness, as he urged frustrated and fatigued Jamaicans to hold strain.

Responding to questions on the opening up of the entertainment sector, Holness said an announcement would come shortly from Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Desmond McKenzie on releasing the brakes on events.

Around the world some leaders have paused the reopening process and announced new constraints on travel and gatherings while others are easing restrictions.

Australia reopened its borders to vaccinated travellers on Monday, while Israel will allow unvaccinated visitors to enter the country beginning March 1. Under England’s new ‘Living with COVID-19 plan’, people will no longer be required to quarantine after testing positive for the virus, and venues will no longer be advised to use coronavirus passes.

Switzerland has eliminated most of its COVID-19 measures, while Japan will ease border restrictions on March 1, including shortening the quarantine time and increasing the number of people allowed to enter each day.

Austria will eliminate limits on event sizes and drop nearly all novel coronavirus constraints on March 5. In Germany, the Government has announced a three-step plan to lift most COVID-19 measures by March 20.

Canada will ease testing requirements for vaccinated visitors on February 28, while Norway is eliminating mask and social-distancing rules. Vietnam is lifting all restrictions on international flights, and The Netherlands has removed capacity restrictions for theatres and sporting events. Italy and Spain have lifted their outdoor mask mandates.

In this region, the Dominican Republic last week became the first country to drop COVID-19 health restrictions, including the mask mandate.

Grenada and the Cayman Islands have also eased their COVID-19 restrictions, while the tri-island state of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique has relaxed its entry requirements for vaccinated travellers and now accepts either a 24-hour negative antigen test result taken one day before travel to Grenada or a 72-hour pre-departure PCR test.