Dear Editor,

Officially it is 11 months old in Jamaica, and its name has been called more than 100 times the number of people it has infected and killed. It is COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus.

It has affected every area of normalcy in Jamaica. The Government, in an attempt to stem the infection and possible death rate caused by the virus, has activated the Disaster Risk Management Act.

The Act, from its onset, has been met with resistance from the entertainment industry, sporting interests, the Church, food industry, tourism industry, etc. This has led to citizens and tourists finding deliberate ways to break and go around the outlined protocols.

It is shocking to hear the reposts of churches and members of the security forces going against the law.

It is selfish of the people who flout the law and attend prohibited events at which they are at great risk of contracting the virus and taking it back to their vulnerable elderly relatives at home.

It goes without saying that Jamaicans are party animals, who ‘just want to hear a pan knock for a crowd to gather’ and a party begins. Partygoers, however, should understand that obeying the law can enable them to live to enjoy many more parties after the virus has passed.

It is unfair to blame the Government for imposing restrictions on various events as a containment measure. The Chinese Government had imposed strict restrictions on their people and they were able to reopen shortly after their curve was flattened.

On the other hand, the previous president of the United States gave scant regard to issuing strict protocols, and to date they are leading in infected cases and deaths. This highlights the importance of adhering to the protocols implemented to see positive results.

There can be no wide scale relaxing of the protocols, as this can prove devastating to an already COVID-19-crippled economy.

We encourage the Church to be the example of obedience and the security forces to remember their motto being “to serve, protect and reassure”, as Jamaica seeks to weather the storm of a pandemic together.

Hezekan Bolton

h_e_z_e@hotmail.com