Confusing travel protocols
THE EDITOR, Madam:
MANY JAMAICANS overseas want to return home, tourists have been rescheduling trips, but many are confused based on the protocols announced over the past few weeks, which have been extremely confusing. Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced that there will be three categories of travellers: (1) Jamaicans and non-nationals residing in Jamaica, (2) nonnationals travelling for business, (3) non-nationals travelling for tourism.
There should be a fourth category for non-nationals, i.e., non-residents (travelling on foreign passports) for personal reasons, such as visiting family, and who would be travelling outside the corridor. It appears that Jamaica-born non-residents must register as Jamaicans and stay for at least 14 days in quarantine, which suggests short stays are not allowed. Wouldn’t a short visit reduce the risk profile with less opportunities for contact? Does it really matter where one stays, whether in the corridor or not? Will there be patrols along the corridor to restrict movement? When it comes to transmission, location won’t matter – many locals live, work and pass through the same corridor! It is for this reason why the wearing of masks in public spaces should be enforced with fines for breaches.
REGISTRATION SITE
The Jamcovid19 website and app clearly states this is for the controlled re-entry of Jamaican residents stranded overseas, so what about Jamaica-born nonresidents? Tourists were told to register at www.visitjamaica.com, but are they aware? Up until recently, there was no option to register on this site despite it being announced more than a week ago.
Why isn’t there a single site for all travellers where one could indicate resident or nonresident? If someone is home-quarantined, what are the risks of spreading in the home and community? And if it takes three hours to test 150 passengers (as reported in the media), how will they cope when several hundred passengers arrive in a day within a short period?
As for the costs of testing, who pays for that? Why isn’t there a small health levy for visitors? One final point: if they have not done so, every hotel should allocate a few remote rooms for guest selfisolation, in case this is required.