REGIONAL – Beenie Man not in police custody – JCF

(Source: Jamaica Gleaner) – The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is refuting reports that dancehall entertainer Moses ‘Beenie Man’ Davis has been arrested for breaching the coronavirus law.  

“He’s not in police custody,” and, “no, he wasn’t,” said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Stephanie Lindsay, who heads the JCF’s Corporate Communications Unit.  

Several posts to the contrary have been circulating on social media.

SPP Lindsay explained that the police last night ended a gathering Davis was hosting in honour of his late mother because the number of people there exceeded the limit allowed under the Disaster Risk Mitigation Act.  

“He was instructed to close it off. He did comply and the fact that he complied then, there would be no need to arrest him,” Lindsay told The Gleaner.  

Following the elections, Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced that public gatherings were reduced to 15 persons, down from 20.  

There’s also an island wide curfew running from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., daily.  

The government had committed to stricter enforcement of the measures because of the surge in coronavirus cases which is now at the community transmission level.  

That means that contact tracing is almost impossible.  

Over the last 24 hours, Jamaica recorded five additional COVID-19-related deaths, pushing the national tally to 60 – 14 of which came in the last three days. 

And, with 187 confirmed cases over the same period, the overall count now stands at 4, 758, of which 3, 291 are active.