Euro Cup and COVID
Grand finale
ENGLAND hosts Italy at London’s famed Wembley Stadium in the final of Euro 2020.
The main theme ahead of the clash is “Football’s either coming home or going to Rome”.
It will be a great game since it features two of the tournament’s best teams.
For England, it is a shot at winning a trophy for the first time since the 1966 World Cup.
For Italy, it’s a chance at redemption after failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. For all their pedigree and tradition, Italy has only won the Euros once in 1968.
England has never won the European Championship and will be contesting their first tournament final in history. As an ardent Three Lions fan, I wish the England team all the best for this morning’s final.
It’s coming home.
RAJNESH ISHWAR LINGAM Balgovind Rd, Nadawa, Nasinu
Divergent views
IT will be interesting to see what the effects are on the infection rates when relaxation of the COVID-19 restrictions occurs in the UK on Freedom Day (from COVID -19 ) on July 19.
More so, when the medical experts in the UK are advising that a much more cautious and gradual strategy should be adopted, rather than the almost total relaxation being envisaged.
Now, if England defeats Italy in that crucial football match on Sunday, cautionary approaches such as social distancing restrictions will most likely disappear out the window during all the inevitable hugging, kissing and celebrations around the UK.
Infection rates as a result will probably worsen before the envisaged relaxation and probably rise exponentially in the period after that.
I suppose that there will be lessons to be learnt in this situation, especially when state officials and the medical experts differ on the strategy to be adopted.
We should always be on the same page and all in this together as we keep telling ourselves.
The bottom line in my opinion should first and foremost be, our health and lives.
Everything else is really secondary. EDWARD BLAKELOCK
Admiral Circle, Pacific Harbour
Government critics
AFTER suffering pain and agony for almost three months, we now finally have a right, smart, brilliant, firm, wise and decisive action taken by the PM Voreqe Bainimarama on jab or no job matter.
Yet the elected and unelected leaders of Opposition political parties chose to oppose it for various reasons. It appears they are hell bent on criticising every action of the Government just for the sake of being critical.
Before criticising, they miserably failed to give serious due consideration to the welfare of Fiji and its people.
They failed to acknowledge that due process of awareness, dialogue, reason and persuasion by one and all had been widely undertaken ever since the beginning of vaccination program some three months ago.
They failed to understand how important it is for Fiji to vaccinate 80-85 per cent of the targeted population as soon as possible to open up our borders to resume tourism and bring our lives back to some degree of normalcy.
They failed to grasp a simple fact that this is not an ordinary disease. This disease is highly infectious and transmissible, thereby unvaccinated population pose a great risk to themselves and other responsible citizens as well.
They failed to realise that this policy will be applicable to only 20-30 per cent of the population which stubbornly and without any convincing and scientific reasons refuse to get vaccinated.
Do they want this minority to hold the whole country at ransom? BHARAT MORRIS
Rifle Range, Vatuwaqa, Suva