BOLTED DOWN
CHRISTOPHER Martin, who was among scores of guests at Usain Bolt’s birthday party in St Andrew last Friday, is now in self-isolation and preparing to do a COVID-19 test.
The singer’s decision came after news reports surfaced yesterday that the sprint legend had allegedly tested positive for the virus.
Lyndon “Kingy” Lettman, manager for Martin, confirmed the latest developments with the Jamaica Observer yesterday.
“Christopher Martin is isolating himself. He is getting the test done today [yesterday] as a precautionary measure. He is feeling no symptoms but, to be sure, he is self-isolating to secure his family and friends because it is the right thing to do,” Lettman said.
For deejay Munga Honorebel, who was also at the party, it was business as usual.
“Munga was at Usain Bolt’s party over the weekend. He is not showing any symptoms of COVID-19, he is quite comfortable. Right now, he is at the studio working,” Christopher Townsend, the deejay’s attorney, told the Observer.
Christopher Martin and Munga Honorebel are on Bolt’s Summer 2019 Olympe Rose rhythm. That project includes songs by Ding Dong and former national footballer Ricardo “Bibi” Gardner, who were also at the party.
In an Instagram post yesterday, Bolt disclosed he was in self-quarantine but was awaiting his COVID-19 test confirmation.
“Just waking up and like everybody else, check social media and I saw that social media’s saying: ‘I’m confirmed to have COVID-19’. I did a test on Saturday to leave, as I work. I’m trying to be responsible so I’m gonna stay in and stay away from my friends. And also, I’m having no symptoms so I’m going to quarantine myself and wait on the confirmation to see what is the protocol and how I should go about quarantining myself [based on guidelines] from the Ministry of Health. Until then, I called my friends and told them, if they came in contact [with me] they should just be safe [as I] quarantine myself and just take it easy,” Bolt, 34, said in the post.
On Friday, multiple videos from the birthday bash made the rounds on social media. It shows very little regard for social distancing and wearing of masks. In addition to local celebrities, international footballers Leon Bailey and Raheem Sterling were present.
Bailey, who plays for Bayer Leverkusen, had his last match in Germany on August 10, while Manchester City’s Sterling played in the Champion’s League quarter-final in Lisbon, Portugal, on August 15. Both have not completed the Jamaican Government’s mandatory 14-day quarantine period.
Last Friday, addressing the sharp rise in COVID-19 cases, Chief Medical Officer Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie said “parties and nightclub activities” were fuelling the spike.
As of Monday morning Jamaica recorded 16 fatalities while 1,612 people tested positive for the novel coronavirus.