KINGSTON, Jamaica— People’s National Party’s (PNP) spokesman on health and wellness, Dr Morais Guy, today made an appeal to the general public to wear masks and adhere to the practice of social distancing during the general election campaign period.

In a statement today, Guy said that the “alarming spike” in the number of positive COVID-19 cases is cause for concern especially among the elderly and people with underlying illnesses.

Jamaica recorded 24 new COVID-19 cases across the island yesterday.

“The commuting public and transport operators must take extra precaution and obey the guidelines, especially the wearing of masks and sanitising of hands as there is increasing concern that the instructions are not being followed in the transport sector,” Guy said.

“The unfortunate death of a taxi operator recently, who contracted the virus, makes the point that every safeguard must be taken to protect the public and minimize the possible spread of the virus,” he added.

The Opposition spokesman said that while law enforcement can play its role to ensure compliance in some scenarios, “it is up to everyone to take responsibility to obey the COVID-19 guidelines and instructions from the Ministry of Health and Wellness”.

According to Guy, there is increasing evidence of the spread of the coronavirus in several other jurisdictions, including the Caribbean. This, he said, has prompted the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to reintroduce stringent control measures to control the spread.

“In Belize, with 32 new cases being confirmed in 24 hour-period, the government has imposed a country-wide curfew to curb the spread of the virus,” he noted.

He also said he believed the Government has missed “many common-sense opportunities to implement measures and procedures to protect the Jamaican society.” He contended that “now is not the time to equivocate on the measures to protect the population.”

“As late as it may appear to be now, I am appealing to the JLP administration once more to do what is right to protect the population by requiring visitors to the island to pretest before embarking to our shores,” he said.

“It is too easy for many to forget the things we need to do to ensure compliance. Still, they are very necessary to ensure the overall safety of the Jamaican society. In this season of political campaigning, we must ensure that we adhere to the regulations by wearing our masks and practice social distancing in our communities, townships and during the various campaign activities,” he added.

Guy’s appeal follows an earlier announcement from the Ministry of Health and Wellness that the United States, Brazil and the Dominican Republic and Mexico have been designated as high-risk locations for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Non-residents visiting Jamaica from these countries are now required to obtain a COVID-19 PCR test prior to arrival.