Medical professionals have urged Jamaicans to continue observing health and safety protocols despite the Government’s withdrawal of measures under the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA) announced by Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Thursday.

“I am hoping that this is what the public health officials have indicated would be safe and appropriate, and I am also hoping that in conjunction with relaxation of these things that the procedures are in place. For example, with the lift on the entertainment sector I hope that there are protocols that all the stakeholders are aware of and there will be appropriate safeguards and monitoring of these protocols,” said Medical Association of Jamaica President Dr Brian James.

Holness, in his contribution to the 2022/23 Budget Debate, had said that after two years of dexterously balancing lives and livelihoods with executive powers under the DRMA, the orders have been gazetted that as of today all measures under the Act will be withdrawn.

“While we acknowledge that the pandemic is not over, it must be mainstreamed into general, normal management of public health, safety, and public order. It is no longer sustainable to manage the pandemic as a special project by executive order through the Disaster Risk Management Act. However, risks still remain and continued vigilance is necessary, especially for vulnerable populations,” said Holness.

Expressing surprise about the removal of nightly curfews, Dr James said, “I knew that there clearly would be some relaxation. I was anticipating that the curfew would have been pushed back a little bit, not necessarily taken away all together.”

He advised Jamaicans to keep in mind the lessons learnt over the past two years in dealing with the management of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“We have experienced in the past — last year July 1 — when we lifted the restrictions from the entertainment sector and we realised that people did not conform to all of the measures that were still in place, and so it caused us to suffer the third wave at that time. I continuously live in hope that people will learn from those kinds of experiences and they will conform this time. I think it is the responsibly of the authorities to keep on driving home the message and keep on encouraging people to get vaccinated,” he said.

Holness, in making the announcement, had also said that the wearing of face masks was no longer mandatory, but advised mask-wearing in enclosed spaces to which the public has access, for example, supermarkets, banks, and tax offices. This will be retained until April 15.

However, Jamaica Medical Doctors’ Association President Dr Mindi Fitz-Henley raised some concerns.

“The masking is something that I think we have to be very careful of because persons who are, unfortunately, unwell are still coming out. Those are persons, especially, who need to be wearing a mask so that they are not infecting other persons,” she said.

“I think another thing is not to belittle or make fun of persons who continue to wear their masks religiously because it is very clear that COVID has showed us that persons with specific medical illnesses, who are a lot more at risk of developing serious complications, are dying from COVID,” she added.

“We are concerned about the speed at which things have moved because we are going from having some measures in place to having zero in many different areas, and so we are concerned about the implications of that, especially when we look at what’s happening in other countries,” Dr Fitz-Henley stated.

“We are not saying Jamaica needs to be back under lockdown because we 1,000 per cent agree that we have to find a way to live with COVID because we know the social, psychological, and psychiatric repercussions have been quite large and we are aware of that, especially since we are the ones who have to treat the patients. We are concerned [however] when we see what is going on in other countries with the waves,” she added.

She said medical practitioners are “hoping and praying against another spike like those happening in other countries”.

“What we don’t want is that we have a full lifting of everything and then we end up in a situation where there is not enough oxygen. I realise Jamaicans’ memories are very short. There is a lot to be seen,” she said.

Dr Fitz Henley also urged the completion of those field hospitals that are still under construction.

“We do believe that what this time is to be used for is to prepare for any kind of disaster, whether it’s COVID or anything else that could occur. Not all the field hospitals that had begun are completed and so if anything occurs, we ought to ensure that we are fully ready in terms of anything else occurring. The preparations really should continue. It’s not that the hospitals are empty, it’s just that the COVID cases are on the decline,” she pointed out.

— Additional reporting by Alicia Dunkley-Willis