Jamaican Entertainment Industry On Lockdown Once Again Following COVID-19 Spike
The entertainment industry in Jamaica is once again in distress. Last Friday, August 21st, Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced that due to the recent spike in Covid-19 cases on the island, the Government made the difficult decision to tighten the curfew hours for a few parishes. In so doing, the curfew time would be rolled back from 11 p.m. to 7 p.m in the affected areas of Kingston and St. Andrew, St. Catherine, and Clarendon.
When the promoters thought things couldn’t get any worse, Holness made an announcement just yesterday, August 24th, at a virtual press conference, that no permits will be granted for entertainment events for the next two weeks.
Permits that have already been issued will be canceled and fees refunded.
As expected, promoters and other stakeholders were not happy about the decision taken.
Surprisingly, Jamaicans seem to be in agreement with the decision as they expressed their views online.
One person commented saying, “Unfortunately, no surprise there smh it’s sad but if people won’t comply then they have to take action.” Another Instagram user had this interesting comment to make, “Ppl party too much putting other people at risk.”
At the press conference yesterday, the Prime Minister said, “As we are seeing, it is easier said than done to have events that are compliant with protocols and, in fact, when the contact tracing is done, you’re seeing that many persons, even high-profile persons who are affected – you could trace right back to entertainment activities.”
He added that the Government has been extremely careful in granting approvals for entertainment events and the promoters were asked to ensure that the protocols were maintained. “Try as they may, and some may have actually tried, it is always going to be difficult. Merriment and partying are not consistent with the conscious behavior that is necessary to stay safe from COVID-19,” he argued.
Holness said the Government recognizes the importance of the entertainment sector but it has to make decisions based on health risks at this time.
He further went on to say, “I ask the entertainment industry, people who are involved who have been hard hit, to please understand that this is something that the Government has to do and it is not that we are doing it in a callous way without understanding their side of it, but there is a national side to this thing now, which we have to be firm about – protecting the lives and safety of the Jamaican public.”
On Monday, August 24th, Jamaica recorded another 83 Covid-19 cases. The total number of confirmed cases in the island now stands at 1,612. Watch the full virtual conference below.