Communicating effectively about COVID-19
THE EDITOR, Madam:
I WOULD like to share three recommendations which I hope the prime minister might consider as a part of the communications strategy to keep the nation abreast of the measures promulgated to restrict the spread of the COVID19 epidemic.
Following the adage, ‘Knowledge is power’, one might conclude that an informed population is better able to make wise decisions. As such, may I suggest that, in addition to the very useful virtual briefings to the media and the nation, and the virtual town-hall meetings, the prime minister, through the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) or the Jamaica Information Service (JIS), implement a fixed Noticeboard and a Hotline to deal with changes in the restrictions and guidelines.
The Noticeboard would function in the same way that a scoreboard does in a cricket match: It would provide, in writing, the authoritative summary of the latest measures promulgated.
I propose that this might have utility for the person who might have missed some relevant detail from the live briefings or missed it in summaries in the newscasts, or missed it in the plethora of other announcements in the newspaper report.
The Noticeboard, published on the OPM or the JIS website, for instance, would authoritatively state the facts – the what, where, and for how long, and the source of the information.
And this would, in no wise, rival the Gazette, which is the authoritative legal document containing the measures, but would be the easy-reader version of that formal, legalistic publication. Of course, the downside is that it would need to be accurately updated/ maintained.
The second recommendation is that, in just the same way that we have a very useful health hotline, operated by the Ministry of Health and Wellness, which is there to answer queries and make referrals regarding health issues or concerns related to COVID-19, so, too, the OPM or the JIS should operate some kind of customer service hotline to deal with queries of a more administrative nature. Again, the responses would need to be scripted and approved to ensure accuracy and consistency.
The hotline might respond to queries about the new curfew hours, the new date for the re-start of regular school, or the date when our airports and seaports will be re-opened for incoming passengers.
Finally, digressing from the matter of the dissemination of information on COVID-19 combat measures to making a suggestion related to ensuring efficiency even during the disruptions caused by COVID-19, it would be desirable, where government agencies and departments have staff that have been detailed to work from home, that supervisors and managers monitor the systems to ensure that members of the public, calling on the regular switchboard lines, are adequately being served.
NOEL STENNETT