Professor of Public Health at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Peter Figueroa says that Prime Minister Andrew Holness should consider restricting indoor gatherings to curb the spread of COVID-19.

This plea comes as, over the past week, Jamaica has recorded over 1,500 cases of the virus. As such, Dr Figueroa has outlined that the measures must be implemented now to combat the latest wave.

These proposed measures include instituting a mask mandate and reducing the size of crowds for indoor events.

“They definitely need to mandate wearing of masks in all indoor spaces in public transport and wherever there are crowds gathering. They should encourage physical distancing, so work from home, I think that is something that can be instituted broadly.”

 “They could reduce the size of crowds gathering and if you’re in the open air, the risk of infection is much, much lower, so people could take off their masks outdoors as long as they’re not in crowds so that they can get some relief. But once they’re indoors or in crowds or in public transport, they need to wear masks,” he asserted. 

In the interim, Dr Figueroa has also purported that parties and other entertainment events be restricted to outdoor events .