Montego Bay Streets Being Cleaned And Sanitised

The St. James Municipal Corporation has commenced the cleaning and sanitising of public areas in Montego Bay as it steps up measures to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the parish.

Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the Corporation, Bryce Grant, said that operations started on Monday (March 30), where a number of streets and sidewalks downtown Montego Bay were scoured and disinfected.

He was speaking at a meeting of the Emergency Operations Committee on Tuesday (March 31), to provide an update on COVID-19 mitigation measures being undertaken by State agencies in the parish.

Mr. Grant, who is also the Superintendent of Road and Works, said that the cleaning and sanitising operations are conducted at nights and will be done on a regular basis.

“We have done Lawrence Lane, sections of Orange Street, Market Street, Corner Lane, and sections of Union Street and St. James Street. We have also done Williams Street [and] Embassy Place. We washed them last night; we sanitised the area,” he noted.

Church Street, South Street and Strand Street were scheduled to be cleansed on Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Homer Davis, said that the Municipal Corporation will be ramping up its COVID-19 education programme in the parish.

He informed that eight town criers have been engaged to go throughout the various communities to sensitise residents and air specific messages from the Ministry of Health and Wellness on the virus.

“We continue to have our own education programme on the street, and based on this new announcement as to the opening and closing hours of the markets and also the curfew, our town criers will be across the parish sensitising our citizens as to the new measures,” the Mayor said.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness has reported four imported cases of the virus in St. James.