Elderly voters warned to avoid morning rush
Some EOJ workers back out over COVID fears
ELDERLY VOTERS have been urged to avoid the traditional morning crush of bodies at polling stations because they may be at increased risk for coronavirus infection as COVID-19 cases mount in Jamaica.
Director of Elections Glasspole Brown sounded the note of caution hours after it was announced that COVID-19-positive persons would be allowed to vote in the general election from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, September 3.
It is feared that long lines and big crowds could delay the voting process for the 403,429 electors aged 60 and older on the current list.
Brown encouraged senior citizens to visit polling stations after 11 a.m. when the morning rush would have subsided. The People’s National Party (PNP) said that that position was in line with its advocacy.
Elderly persons with underlying illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension are at higher risk of life-threatening complications from COVID-19. Jamaica has recorded 2,459 infections and 21 deaths.
Meanwhile, increased fears of contracting COVID-19 following a surge in infections have resulted in some election day workers voting with their feet to stay away from polling duties on Thursday.
Brown indicated that some election day workers had changed their minds about participating in the process. The director did not provide a specific number of workers who have pulled out.
“A few have indicated so, but I wouldn’t say a large amount so far,” Brown told The Gleaner on Monday when asked how many of the workers had stepped back.
“We have been trying to replace them with the reserve pool that we have,” Brown added.
Brown told The Gleaner that Thursday’s polls would be one of the most challenging elections administered by the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ).
PNP General Secretary Julian Robinson, who has tested positive for the virus, told The Gleaner that he was pleased that his constitutional right to vote would not be breached.
“I think that’s the proper thing to do, to make the arrangement so that people, all Jamaicans, have the right to vote,” said Robinson when asked his view on the new development.
Robinson, who is the PNP’s candidate for St Andrew South East, said he was unsure if concerns about the participation of infected electors would dampen late-evening voting.
On Monday, 31,084 election day workers, 11,512 police officers, and 4,181 members of the Jamaica Defence Force had their opportunity to vote.
Brown told The Gleaner that at midday on Monday, 27 per cent of special services electors had voted. However, up to news time, the full voter turnout was not available.
Meanwhile, concerns about police who have contracted COVID-19 were again highlighted when news surfaced that the Highgate Police Station in St Mary had been temporarily closed after a member of the force tested positive for the virus.
All members of staff at the station have been tested and are awaiting their results.
Head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force Corporate Communications Unit, Senior Superintendent Stephanie Lindsay, told The Gleaner that she could not provide an “exact number” of police personnel who have tested positive for the virus.
The Sunday Gleaner reported that 16 police officers had tested positive for the coronavirus.
An official who spoke on condition of anonymity told the newspaper that “over 200” cops are now in quarantine.