Lockdown test run

WE HAVE all started, at least on a cognitive level, if not yet physically, to prepare for the seemingly impending islandwide lockdown. The partial lockdown that has been announced by the Government has come with long lines, miserable complaints and three-card trickery on the part of citizens trying hard to slip through the cracks of the St Catherine borders.

There is much that we can learn from the partial lockdown, and I would hope that before an islandwide lockdown is announced, certain issues are appropriately considered and dealt with. Otherwise, things could go very sour.

Unfortunately, many Jamaicans are still stuck under the spell of panic and refuse to think. The chorus now seems to be that we should all forget about our useless ‘rights’, given the seriousness of the pandemic, and do whatever Brogad says is necessary to curtail the spread of the virus.

Anyway, if the Government wishes to maintain at least some semblance of order for the extended period in which we will be dealing with this pandemic, there are some lessons we must learn now, before it is too late.

Before any widening of the lockdown, three key issues must be addressed before new problems outdo the older problems:

The most glaring issue right now is that with countless numbers of persons lined up outside supermarket doors waiting to get inside, there is simply not enough space for social distancing. That is, unless the Hi-Lo Barbican Supermarket line is going to extend to the Hi-Lo Half-Way Tree parking lot.

Blame the citizens all you want, it won’t change the fact that people are panicking and will show up at the supermarket just because they ran out of bread. Some are of the belief that the crowds will subside as the lockdown continues. Only time will tell. But many who turned up to shop on Wednesday will be back on Saturday, and will be back again on Wednesday if the parish remains under lockdown. What can I say? Some people just can’t do without their bread.

So clearly, some effort needs to be put into streamlining how shopping will be done under lockdown. The shorter the time window for people to shop, the greater the bundling. If what we want is more spacing out and less hitching up, the time allotted for shopping will have to be increased, significantly. Maybe what we should do is forget the term ‘lockdown’ and simply put in place the smartest and most practicable measures. That could mean supermarkets remaining open on all days with restrictions only on the selection of persons that can access the supermarkets on each day.

RIGHT THE WRONG

Now, on the point of shopping days and hours, the Government by now, I hope, has learnt that many Jamaicans are dedicated and committed to their spiritual and religious persuasions, and Sabbath-keepers are by no means an exception. If shopping has to be limited to two days of the week (and I’m not sure that it does), Saturday might simply not be a very good pick.

Jamaica’s largest Christian denomination is the Seventhday Adventist Church. It accounts for approximately 12 per cent of the population. Further to this, there are other, smaller, Sabbathkeeping churches. It is therefore a little unfortunate that the Government thought it best and most considerate to designate Wednesdays and Saturdays as the official shopping days. Some may posit that Wednesdays should be good enough for Sabbath-keepers, but the terrible overcrowding on Wednesday was perhaps partly because the many Sabbathkeepers crammed themselves outside the supermarket doors since they had only that day to shop. Many persons, unable to actually get what they needed in time, simply gave up and went back home.

For future lockdowns, the Government should right the wrong and consideration should be given to Sabbath-keepers who now, in St Catherine, essentially only have one shopping day, since they do not engage in secular matters on the Sabbath. The Government would do well to consider the several other days that can work for everyone.

The Opposition raised this concern and perhaps in response, the Government added three hours of shopping time on Saturday, from 5 to 8 p.m. However, from the gazette that has been in circulation, it seems these three hours are reserved for people with last names that start with letters from ‘I’ to ‘P’. How exactly did this move help to facilitate Sabbathkeepers? Is it that the A-O and Q-Z Sabbath-keeping folks can also shop from 5 to8 p.m.? This needs a little explanation.

WHAT ABOUT LOCAL PRODUCE?

Lastly, it is very telling that at this time, markets are closed. Amid the talks of Jamaicans needing to turn to our local farmers for food during these uncertain times, the Government’s order has left the St Catherine farmers out totally. Supermarkets will be opened. Markets apparently will be closed. There is a reasonable concern that the free flow nature of market culture could help to facilitate the spread of the virus, but all that is needed is thoughtful regulation, as is the case with supermarkets.

I wonder now how many Jamaicans who insisted that they would not be buying the‘overpriced’ produce from market vendors will opt to buy the $800 pack of broccoli sitting in the supermarket fridge, or the $600 cantaloupe.

It is always funny to hear the excuses we make as to why we can’t support our struggling farmers, but now it is clear where our priorities really lie as consumers. Bully beef and butter. No bush.

Moving forward, the Government should be mindful that they don’t further discourage some of the same lifestyle and economic practices they have been attempting to promote. People cannot support our local agriculture industry (or their own health) by eating farm produce if farmers aren’t allowed to sell.

For those who desperately wanted an islandwide lockdown, it seems it is now almost here. In order for things to remain even remotely civil during the period when it comes, some changes must be made. Contrary to what some would have us think, the COVID-19 spread, as terrible as it is, does not necessitate life being turned on top of its head, and certainly does not mean a complete cessation of all rights.

The focus has to be on acting with wisdom, such that after the COVID-19 storm has passed, we won’t have regrets stemming from desperate or unmeasured things we would have done out of fear and panic.