With all the talk of the growing crime numbers and the tit for tat between the Government and the Opposition on the rising level of brain drain, especially in relation to our teachers and nurses, it seems to have missed the attention of many that the number of novel coronavirus cases are again on the rise.

A snapshot of just this week reveals that the positivity rate has climbed to 24 per cent for tests done on Tuesday, August 23, 2022. Recall the desirable — for want of a better expression — COVID-19 positivity rate in under 5 per cent.

For Monday and Tuesday alone we registered just under 100 new cases. And before that, on Sunday, the Ministry of Health reported 125 new cases in the preceding 24 hours.

It stands to reason, therefore, that “COVID still a keep”.

We continue to hail the success in regrow sectors and the wider economy and, no doubt, we all have been revelling in the return to ‘normal’. But, we cannot take our eyes off the prize. Too much has been gained to be lost because of a loss of focus.

We in this space note that there are still over 100 individuals hospitalised with varied complications of COVID-19 requiring constant care and case management. Some 3,239 individuals have succumbed to the disease caused by the virus. And, still less than a quarter of Jamaicans are noted as fully vaccinated. We are not out of the woods.

The return to face-to-face instruction looms in a matter of weeks, which has its concomitant risks and exposures. Have we built into or back-to-school plans sustained measures to militate against the threats that lie in wait?

Staffing woes are aplenty, transportation undersupply requires capital injection, wage agreements still have unresolved terms, but on the list of must-do items ought to be a system-wide recognition that the island must remain vigilant that the COVID-19 fight is still on.

The cases of monkeypox, as well, must be kept on the dashboard as a threat that is real and present.

Hope abounds as we have the tools to combat the threats faced, but front of mind has to be the battle if we are to maintain domination of this formidable though invisible foe.

Admittedly, there is no need for alarm, but planning and staying the course are everything to meeting the desired outcome.

Word is that the Ministry of Health and Wellness is set to remount the Jamaica Moves campaign today, dubbed “Reloaded”. It is hoped that the gatherings that will be hosted will be COVID-19-compliant and that included in the lifestyle education will be the steps to living with the threat of the novel coronavirus. If this is not so, there is still time for inclusion. We exclude this kind of sustained sensitisation and education to our own peril.

We have hosted successful Jamaica 60 celebrations as a “reignited” people. Let not the joys of merriment cause us to counter the advances that our efforts have earned us. Our economy and society demand that we, as they say, stay woke.