A risk analysis study commissioned by the Cabinet and spearheaded by Dr Parris Lyew-Ayee Jr, director of the Mona Geoinformatics Institute at The University of the West Indies, has found that more than 40 communities in the Kingston Metropolitan Area (KMA) are the most at-risk areas in Jamaica to COVID-19 transmission.

The team, which also includes Howard Mitchell and Gordon Shirley, carried out the research and made a presentation to Cabinet on vulnerable individuals and communities across the country.

Addressing a special select committee of Parliament reviewing developments relating to COVID-19, Lyew-Ayee said that with the exception of Whitehall, the areas registering the highest scores in terms of at-risk communities were below Half-Way Tree.

Port Antonio, Spanish Town, and Montego Bay also featured as the major regions, outside of the KMA, in the top 50 hotspots islandwide.

When the committee met last week, St Andrew South Member of Parliament Mark Golding queried what plans, if any, the Government had in dealing with the impact of COVID-19 on densely populated urban centres. 

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