President of the St. Ann Chamber of Commerce Vanna Taylor has welcomed the resumption of major entertainment events in St. Ann, saying the Easter weekend saw tremendous commercial activity for the parish.

The long Easter Holiday has traditionally pulled large numbers of people to the parish for several entertainment events. However, this was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions implemented over the past two years.

She commended the police, noting the free flow of traffic on Sunday and yesterday(April 18), following a major traffic jam between Ocho Rios and St. Ann’s Bay on Saturday.

The St. Ann Municipal Corporation announced that it will temporarily suspend the issuing of permits for events at Pearly Beach in Ocho Rios.

The decision followed an event at the location on Saturday, which contributed to gridlock for several hours.

The Corporation called an emergency meeting on Sunday with the police, the National Works Agency and other stakeholders to discuss the issue and how to prevent a recurrence.

Ms. Taylor expects improvements with the measures to be implemented.