Market Hours Adjusted For Easter

The Government has made adjustments to the opening hours for markets over the next five days, in an effort to reduce the transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19).

Speaking at a digital press conference at Jamaica House on Wednesday (April 8), Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, said that on Holy Thursday markets will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

On Saturday, April 11, markets will be open from 7:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Markets and the commercial district will be closed on Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.

On Tuesday, April 14, markets will revert to the previous hours of Sundays to Wednesdays from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and Thursdays to Saturdays 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Mr. Holness noted that markets are of concern as it relates to the transmission of COVID-19.

“Markets are a high-risk area. I visited the Coronation Market on the weekend and I do have concerns, and it’s not just the Coronation Market; it is all the markets across the island,” he noted.

The Prime Minister implored Jamaicans to observe the measures put in place to reduce the spread of the virus
“The long lines that I’m seeing; people collecting their pension cheques, people collecting their Programme of Advancement for Health and Education (PATH) benefits, persons using the banks, the queuing to get into supermarkets, all of those things are of concern to us, and we have put in place orders to address that. We ask the public to maintain the social distancing and the gathering orders. No more than 10 persons should be in one space,” he noted.

Jamaica has confirmed 63 cases of COVID-19 to date.