PORT MARIA, St Mary — Promoters whose applications to host parties are still pending in this parish have become a major target as police and other authorities on Thursday declared a zero-tolerance posture towards the hosting of events.

Their cue has come from Prime Minister Andrew Holness who recently announced a three-week ban on parties, effective August 11, to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. No permits will be granted during the ban.

But there is apprehension that promoters who submitted applications prior to the ban may defy the order and go ahead with their events.

“We have some applications for events during that three-week period [of the ban]…,” said Richard Creary, chairman of the St Mary Municipal Corporation, during Thursday’s sitting of the corporation. “What will happen is that persons, not being able to get the permits, will more than likely go ahead with those events… We need to monitor to ensure that those events do not take place.”

During the meeting, Superintendent Bobette Morgan-Simpson, who heads the St Mary police, threw her support behind the mayor’s call. Her team, she said, will be “on the lookout for events that were planned, and the events that are going to be held even though no permits are being issued”.

Creary was at pains to explain that he is not anti-entertainment and he has in the past attended parties that have been given the green light.

“When they hear me speak, persons would say I am saying no entertainment not to take place and mi a fight against dance and all of that. That’s not what it is all about. When entertainment events are allowed, I myself visit a number of them. It is not a situation where I am against it, but we have to be very responsible at this time,” he explained. “We need to protect ourselves and some of the times we need to protect persons from themselves as well.”

His own experience at parties, he said, was that safety protocols are the last thing on revellers’ minds once the drinks begin to flow.

“It is very difficult to party and observe protocols. I have seen it; it happens to me at times too. You go to an event, you wear your mask… As the time goes on, the mask goes in the pocket and you don’t remember about it. The more you drink and the more you have fun is the less you remember about protocols. It is very difficult to do,” Creary reasoned.

He expects, he said, that there will be a heavy price to pay for parties held in the weeks leading up to the ban.

“With the entertainment that took place over the last two weekends, we would expect that those numbers [of COVID-19 cases] perhaps will continue to rise over the next couple of weeks,” he predicted.

He made the point, however, that the responsibility to follow the rules is not just confined to the entertainment industry. He also urged people outside the industry, including those at his offices, to adhere to the anti-COVID-19 measures.

“A number of the protocols seem to have gone out the window,” Creary said. “I ask that we all follow the protocols.”