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Residents of Fowler Town in a section of Eight Miles in St Ann are not anxious to see any returning residents in their community.

So serious are these residents about keeping their community COVID-19-free that they have gone to great lengths to keep 'strangers' out.

The residents have used plyboard to create a gate at the entrance to the community. This checkpoint is manned by persons who insist that people entering sanitise their hands.

One resident told THE STAR that actions were taken after at least one 'returning resident' sought refuge there after 'escaping' the lockdown in St Catherine, the current epicentre of the novel coronavirus in Jamaica.

"Somebody wah did live here already move go a Portmore and mussi run weh come dung here Thursday night. Him did leave back the same night and from deh suh the road block off," one resident told THE STAR.

Jamaica, at press time last night, had 196 cases of the respiratory virus.

In a bid to contain the spread of the virus, the Government has ordered that people living in Portmore stay home, unless they are essential service workers.

However, persons have fled St Catherine, causing fear that they if they are infected, they would take the virus to their new location.

"We can't block the main road because we are not allowed to do that, but we have to protect our village because of the corona ting. You have a lot of people who live in the area that went out so we have to be careful," said Robert Dawkins, 54, who mans the checkpoint.

KEEP CORONA OUT

"It's just a gate, and we stand up at a little door and we open it when like vehicle fi go in or when people want to go out and buy what they need. It is not like we are holding out on people, it's just to ensure we keep out the corona," he said. "Vehicles are always running in and out of the community. If any strange vehicle a guh carry anyone from in the community, what we try to do is let dem drop dem out pon the main road, people get them hand sanitise at the little gate and dem go in."

He noted that residents have gloves and masks and often use rubbing alcohol.

"The youth dem at the checkpoint keep at least three feet away or even further too," Dawkins told THE STAR.

He said that if the situation is more than they can handle, the police would be summoned.

"We don't hesitate to call the police if we see anything or anybody want to act out of line. The Government is saying we should just help and it will drive away the germs, and of course them right; so we just a help and do the best that we can," he said.

Donald Fowler, 52, a resident of Fowler Town, said he fully supported the checkpoint.

"Me agree with the lock-off because we are in a community where anybody just go in and come out, so we have to set some rules. So now we have to find out where dem come from and ting like that," Fowler told THE STAR. "Other people good with it too, so we gonna continue do it until after this virus ting over."