Reduced hours for Grand Market among anti-COVID measures in St Ann

Grand Market activities on December 24 will be greatly reduced in the major towns in St Ann, namely, St Ann’s Bay, Ocho Rios and Brown’s Town, in order to minimise the spread of the dreaded COVID-19 disease.

Addressing the monthly general meeting of the St Ann Municipal Corporation in St Ann’s Bay on Thursday, Mayor Sydney Stewart said traffic would be diverted on Christmas Eve to allow shopping as usual in these towns, but only from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.

This would leave persons with one hour to get home before the curfew hours, which start at 10 p.m. and run until 5 a.m.

During the festive season, food market would operate as usual.

Mayor’s Treat Cancelled

As part of other moves to combat the spread of the disease, Stewart said the annual Mayor’s Treat for children has been cancelled this year and he urged fellow councillors to be responsible and not stage events that would attract large gatherings, such as parties, treats, and football games.

Stewart said town criers, flyers and other forms of communication would be used to convey the message regarding the operational hours to vendors and buyers.

The police will also help to communicate the message to the public prior to the date and they will be on hand to ensure that the stipulated hours are adhered to.

“Those are the measures that we intend to take,” Stewart told the meeting.

Other anti-COVID measures to be implemented over the Christmas period include the banning of visits to the infirmary. Instead, a WhatsApp link being established so that relatives and friends may be able to communicate with residents at the facility.

This measure is to be adopted at all infirmaries islandwide following directives from Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie, with each facility being supplied with two cell phones for that purpose.

The corporation is also to undertake an educational exercise to impress upon both business operators and the buying public the importance of wearing a mask to combat COVID-19.

The campaign is to urge business operators to ensure that staff members wear masks while at work, while at the same time imploring customers to cover up when shopping.

“Every single person must be wearing a mask,” Stewart insisted.