Opposition Spokeswoman Joins Calls For Reopening Of Entertainment Sector
Opposition Spokesperson on Local Government Denise Daley has joined calls being made by stakeholders, among them Foota Hype and Popcaan, for the reopening of the entertainment sector.
According to Daley, who is Member of Parliament for St. Catherine Eastern, despite Jamaica’s low vaccination rate, the time has come for the restrictions on entertainment events to end.
Up to Sunday, the Ministry of Health’s vaccination tracker showed that only 636,803 (23.5%) of Jamaica’s population on 2.7 million have been fully vaccinated.
Daley’s comments came in the aftermath of a statement made by Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Desmond McKenzie on Monday, that he would be making an announcement “soon” regarding the sector, which, following a one-month reopening in August last year, had been re-shut due to a spike in COVID-19 cases.
Speaking with Radio Jamaica news, Daley said that creative ways should be used to minimise the spread of COVID-19, and that as Opposition spokesman she would be more than willing to assist the Government to make recommendations.
Daley also spoke on the contentious issue of giving preferential treatment to fully vaccinated people, a position for which she said she was in full support.
“If it’s an open area, there must be some rules that governs, such as making sure you are properly sanitized, make sure that you if you have to wear a mask, wear a mask,” she maintained.
“And, I also believe the time has come for us to look at those who are fully vaccinated. There must be some kind of privilege that you should get out of being fully vaccinated…. I cannot tell you off hand what can be done, but I do know the minister and his team, and if they want me as the opposition to come in, we’ll be able to come together to make some recommendations,” she declared.
In light of what transpired in August last year, Daley said that event promoters must ensure they adhere to COVID-19 prevention guidelines so that whenever the entertainment sector is given the greenlight, it will remain open.
Nevertheless, she also pointed out that there was a need for proper oversight as it relates to how the members of the entertainment promotion sector conducts their events.
She also pointed out that only offenders should be sanctioned, if problems occur, and not a wholescale shutdown of the sector as was done in 2021, when the Government sought to slow the spread of COVID-19, which it said was threatening to overwhelm the island’s health sector.
“You know what is the problem too? Supervision and monitoring. We give these people permission and we have nobody, no manpower to make sure that the regulations are followed,” she argued.
“What we need to do is, once they are not followed, those persons are either banned for a short period or, depends on the nature of the circumstances, they’re banned for a longer period. But at the same time, do not put everybody in the same basket and then end up making everybody suffering,” she added.
Last Thursday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness had hinted that he would be engaging in what he described as a “gradual and controlled process of getting our economy back to full productive capacity”, subject to a continuation of the downward trend in infections and hospitalisations.
Holness, who is the Member of Parliament for St. Andrew West Central, stated that science and the data clearly support a “widening of the guard rails to allow more economic activity”, and that the figures point to a rapid improvement in the COVID-19 situation since the peak of the fourth wave in January.
The Prime Minister had also said that his Government would conduct further analysis of COVID data, and would “continue this process to give all Jamaicans the opportunity to earn their livelihoods while protecting their health”.