Prime Minister Andrew Holness last evening announced that tighter operating hours have been put in place for beaches and rivers.

These establishments, he said, will open from 6:00 am to 4:00 pm, Mondays to Saturdays; and 6:00 am to 2:00 pm on Sundays and public holidays.

Read: PM announces tighter measures following daily increase in COVID-19 cases

In addition, the capacity limit has been reduced from 70 per cent to 50 per cent for entities such as places of worship, gyms, bars that operate under a club licence and dining establishments.

 “The capacity limit for small events will also be reduced from 60 per cent to 50 per cent. Therefore, the number of persons permitted at a small event will still be 100 persons or 50 per cent of the venue capacity, whichever is lower,” Holness said.

The prime minister pointed out that while the Government has not mandated closing hours for businesses “we would expect that establishments will generally close one hour before [the] curfew to allow employees and patrons to be able to get public transportation or otherwise go home”.

The adjusted measures will remain in place until August 10.

Holness said that the country’s COVID situation will be closely monitored over the course of the next two weeks, to determine the measures that will apply, effective August 11.

“Our focus in crafting those measures will be on trying to control spreads sufficiently to allow us to reopen schools to facilitate structured face-to-face learning in September. That it is imperative for the Government and, indeed, for all the parents and children who have had a really very difficult time during this pandemic,” he said.