WESTERN BUREAU:

Nine persons were arrested and one business establishment ordered closed on Wednesday night as the Hanover police enforced the national curfew that was imposed by the Government to curb the spread of the much-feared new coronavirus.

The curfew will run from April 1 to April 8 between the hours of 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Despite the breaches, compliance was high, said Superintendent Sharon Beeput, the police commander for Hanover.

Hanover is one of three parishes with no confirmed cases of COVID-19. The other two parishes are Trelawny and St Thomas.

Up to Thursday, there were 47 confirmed cases across the country and three related deaths. Two persons have also recovered.

Last week, Kenisha Stennett-Dunbar, the parish’s coordinator for disaster preparedness, told The Gleaner that checks done by her organisation revealed that people were, in general, abiding by the social-distancing and personal-hygiene guidelines.

“We have a few persons going out, still gathering. It is not as dominant as in other parishes,” she said.

Stennett-Dunbar’s sentiments mirror those of the police, who said they were satisfied with Wednesday night’s operation, with only a handful of breaches observed.

– Bryan Miller