A travel advisory has been issued against Jamaica by the US Department of State on Tuesday, advising its citizens against going to the country due to ‘COVID-related conditions’ and crime.
The advisory, which was updated on its website this morning, stated that Jamaica had been upgraded to a level 4 category of risk, which is recognised as a ‘Do Not Travel’ code for US immigration.
Despite the category of notification, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently has a Level 2 Travel health Notice for the island, indicating a moderate level of COVID-19 in the country.
The bigger and perhaps more specific point of note in the advisory was the crime risk caution by the State Department.
The advisory added that citizens should avoid travelling to areas of the country which are deemed high risk and volatile with the recent wave of crime.
“Local police lack the resources to respond effectively to serious criminal incidents. Emergency services vary throughout the island, and response times may vary from US standards,” it said in its release.
The Department curated a list of areas to avoid if travelling or already in the country.
Areas of note include:
- Cassava Piece
- Downtown Kingston, defined as between Mountain View Avenue and Hagley Park Road, and south of Half Way Tree and Old Hope Roads. Downtown Kingston includes Trench Town, Tivoli Gardens, and Arnett Gardens.
- Grants Pen
- Standpipe
Areas of the ‘second city’ of Montego Bay have also been included on the no-go advisory:
- Canterbury
- Clavers Street
- Flankers
- Hart Street
- Norwood
- Rose Heights
This comes two days after the announced Zone of Special Operations (ZOSO) in the east Kingston region of Parade Gardens on Sunday.
It was reported that Jamaica has experienced a whopping 37 murders since the start of the year, with talks around the revising to the government’s ability to call the State’s of Emergencies (SOEs).
