Dear Editor,

My condolence to those who’ve lost someone because of COVID-19. I respect every life.

Buju Banton made a video after being frustrated with the wearing of masks and the economic burdens on the people of Jamaica. I only disagree with his tone and that he could have explained things more to the public. But I got what he was saying.

Unlike the many sheep on social media, I am a street man and know how to read the pulse of the people. Buju Banton, to me, is expressing what the silent majority in Jamaica is saying.

I’ve yet to see in our constitution where we could be locked up for refusing to wear masks. I wear a mask, but truth be told, I don’t believe my cloth masks are even 70 per cent effective against COVID-19.

The health experts told us from day one not to wear masks, which to me never made sense then. Later, they told us to wear it.

Most countries around the world and Jamaica have flattened the curve, yet face a spike again. The mortality rate of COVID-19 is under two per cent worldwide, which means over 98 per cent recover from the virus. Plus, a lot of folks catch the virus and don’t know, because they weren’t tested or symptomatic.

Back to Jamaica and Buju Banton, a lot of people in Jamaica are suffering economically and mentally due to COVID-19. Buju Banton is basically expressing the frustration of those who are sometimes afraid to speak up, because they don’t want to be ‘cancelled’ and bullied into silence.

I am a numbers man, so the statistics show the top 15 leading cause of deaths in Jamaica in 2018, according to the World Life Expectancy.com.

1) stroke – 2,479 deaths

2) diabetes (mellitus) – 2,340 deaths

3) coronary heart disease – 2151 deaths

4) prostate cancer – 922 deaths

5) violence – 1,127 deaths

6) HIV/AIDS – 948 deaths

7) breast cancer – 360 deaths

8) kidney disease – 686 deaths

9) Alzheimer’s and dementia – 797 deaths

10) lung cancers – 493 deaths

11) influenza/pneumonia – 550 deaths

12) cervical cancer – 229 deaths

13) lung disease – 502 deaths

14) hypertension – 502 deaths

15) low birth weight – 279 deaths

( www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/country-health-profile/jamaica)

Even with vaccines and medicines, influenza and pneumonia still manage to kill more Jamaicans in 2018 than COVID-19 so far in 2020.

It is okay to criticise someone, but trying to cancel and shame a person for his/her opinion doesn’t mean they will accept yours.

I am a social media man, and I believe it’s important, but social media isn’t Jamaica, so we shouldn’t pay attention to the noise from liberals on social media, because Jamaica is a very conservative society.

Teddylee Gray

Ocho Rios, St Ann

teddylee.gray@gmail.com