NEVER AGAIN
Holness vows new approach to COVID management
Prime Minister Andrew Holness last night said that his Government will never again bow to pressures from persons to relax measures that are imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Holness, in firing thinly veiled jabs at the entertainment sector and other sectoral interests, said that the Government will take a “different type of management of the pandemic going forward”.
Speaking at a press briefing last night, which was called to update the nation about the pandemic, the prime minister said that going forward, there will have to be a greater balance and understanding that sectoral interest can’t push the Government into decisions that affect the entire society.
“This Government, more than any, listens to the people, but at the same time, we have powerful interests and when the consequences come you can’t find anybody. It wasn’t their fault! They didn’t ask for it! They didn’t play any role in it; they didn’t keep what they used to keep, but their voice was very loud in asking for, and demanding even, protesting even, for us to reopen the economy,” Holness said.
While Holness did not name the entertainment sector as being among the powerful interest that called for the reopening of the economy, he left little doubt where he was casting the blame.
The entertainment sector was shut down last March after Jamaica recorded its first few cases of the novel coronavirus.
It then reopened under strict guidelines on July 21, 2020, but shut down one month later as the Government branded entertainment fertile ground for the spread of the highly contagious virus.
Following persistent cries, the Government again opened the sector on July 1, only to shut it down 39 days later. At the time of the reopening, Jamaica had 50,242 COVID-19 cases and 1,082 deaths. The number of deaths has since increased by 467 while COVID-19 cases have jumped by 18,240.
349 COVID-19 DEATHS
A staggering 349 COVID-19 deaths were recorded in August, with 31 fatalities — the highest daily reporting since the pandemic began — reported yesterday. The Ministry of Health and Wellness said the deaths, which pushed the nation’s tally to 1,549, occurred between August 23-30.
More males (812) have died from COVID-19 than females (737), despite more females (38,742) being confirmed as having the virus than males (29,737).
Holness said that although there has been a decline in the reproductive rate of the virus, it is not sufficient enough to drive down the transmission of virus. He announced six more no-movement days — over the next two weekends — to help bring down the high infection rate. On Tuesday, 40 per cent of the persons tested for COVID-19 returned adverse results.
Holness last night told Jamaicans that his administration has “this situation under control” and urged persons not to panic. At the same time, he urged persons to follow the infection prevention protocols and to take the vaccine.
“It is not a time for us to relax. We have to drive through with these measures; we will bring the numbers down, and when we bring it down, I am certain that we will end this argument about opening up and then having to close down,” the prime minister
said.