KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Cabinet has decided that the islandwide nightly 8:00 pm to 5:00 am curfew is being extended for the period February 24 until March 1, 2021.  Accordingly, the curfew will commence at 8:00 pm on Wednesday, February 24, until 5:00 am the following morning, with the sequence ending at 5:00 am Monday, March 1, 2021, the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) said in a statement today.

The public gathering limit remains at 10 people until February 28, 2021.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information has advised schools to focus on students preparing for exit exams at Grades six, 11, 12 and 13. Other students should not be on the campuses and should be engaged through other established learning modalities.

A further review of various measures under the Disaster Risk Management Order due to expire on February 28, 2021 will be undertaken and an announcement made regarding measures that will be in place effective March 1, the OPM said.  

In the meantime, Prime Minister Andrew Holness is reiterating that the virus is spread when people move about.

People are therefore being encouraged to stay within their homes as much as possible and minimise movement only for necessary and productive activities such as going to work, obtaining food and medical supplies, accessing medical services, and conducting businesses and financial transactions.

“All citizens must continue to keenly observe the infection prevention and control measures to guard against the spread of COVID-19. These measures include maintaining a six foot physical distance from others, frequently washing hands with soap and water or using sanitizer and always wearing a mask in public.

"Only through this concerted effort to control the spread of the virus will we be able to maintain a level of productivity to secure lives and livelihoods and recover more quickly from this crisis," said Holness.