Suffering in lockdown
Gov’t warned uncertainties caused by current strategy could trigger bankruptcy
Published:Sunday | September 12, 2021 | 12:09 AMMark Titus - Gleaner Writer
Investors across several sectors are calling on the Government to rethink its infection control strategies employed to counter the rapid spread of COVID-19, as the no-movement days are sending them to the brink of bankruptcy.
A sharp increase in coronavirus infections, hospitalisations and deaths, since the Jamaican independence celebrations in August, resulted in the Government implementing stricter measures that included four consecutive weekends of three-day lockdowns, longer curfew hours, and businesses closing earlier. The measures are in place until September 14, unless there is an extension.
With over 74,000 infection cases and approximately 1,700 deaths, and those numbers increasing rapidly with the Delta and Mu variants now in Jamaica, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the country can expect tight restrictions until the numbers trend down to an acceptable level.
But popular Montego Bay businessman Sunil ‘Danny’ Vangani, who has been operating several businesses along the north coast for the past 25 years, says no business can survive on three and a half days of commercial activities.
“We are suffering a lot because we are not making enough over three and a half days to cover our expenses,” Vangani told The Gleaner.
“In fact, the way the lockdowns are being done is creating more harm than good because markets, banks and supermarkets are jam-packed on the movement days, creating a greater superspreader environment.”
Vangani, who was forced to close his Ocho Rios, St Ann, operation last year as the pandemic intensified, is hoping that the lockdowns will not extend beyond September 14.
“This is the general view of the Indian community.We are not impressed,” said Vangani. “This is my home now, I am not an immigrant anymore, and we are having a hard time predicting future business.”
He added, “It would have been more effective for a one-week lockdown and then allow movement to resume.”
NO COHERENT STRATEGY
Outgoing president of the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA), Richard Pandohie, agrees that the Andrew Holness administration needs to go back to the drawing board.
“The frustration is not so much the lockdowns, which I do not think are sustainable,” Pandohie said. “But the fact that we just don’t seem to have a coherent strategy moving forward.”
Pandohie, who is also the CEO of Seprod Limited, says Jamaica continues to be reactive to the developments of the pandemic, despite getting a preview of what to expect before the virus got to our shores.
“We saw the impact in Europe, but we continue to operate in a reactive way, even though we have the benefits of insights from other countries’ reviews of what to expect,” he said.
The sight of large crowds of people crammed together trying to transact business on ‘movement days’ has been frustrating for Pandohie, who argues that the rate of COVID-19 infection is at a critical level, which could see companies unable to produce at maximum levels, because they do have enough workforce.
“We have to work with the Government to get over this hurdle, even for the hours to be extended on the days that are available to prevent the overcrowding and chaos,” he noted. “We’re now on the CDC list, and if this continues, it is just a matter of time before we are red circled by everybody.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has placed Jamaica at level four in its travel advisory, stating that if travel to the Caribbean island is not necessary, it should be avoided because of the country’s spiralling COVID numbers.
Tourism contributed 9.8 per cent to Jamaica’s gross domestic product in 2019, and according to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica, there was a 24.2 per cent decline in employment in 2020 (122,400) caused by the pandemic, when compared to 161,500 persons in July, 2019.
TAKE A BREAK
Former hotelier and chairman of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), Godfrey Dyer, has no doubt that the Government had to take some action to curb the spiralling COVID numbers, but he is hoping the measures will be relaxed after next week.
“We have not seen the result. If the current lockdown helped, we might have to wait, but the Government had to do something and I support what was done,” Dyer said. “But I think we should take a break and just have the lockdown at night and watch it over the next few weeks to see what happens…we should not continue with this beyond what is already announced.”
The tourism sector was not impacted significantly by the no-movement days, which Dyer credits to the tourism ministry and the creation of the resilient corridor.
He believes that CDC’s advisory could affect the arrival numbers in the short term, but argues that Jamaica’s reputation as a top tourist destination can still attract the 53 per cent of the American population that is fully vaccinated. In the meantime, locals will have their part to play to restore Jamaica’s favourable rating, he says.
It is going to be a challenge for players in the shipping and logistics sector when the measures are relaxed, as during the days to operate, warehouses were forced to restrict transactions to a mere 150 daily.
NEED TO RELIEVE THE STRESS
The Government’s decision to give a bly to players in the entertainment sector last month is being blamed for the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, but popular western Jamaica comedian and CEO of Ultimate Performance Stage Theatre, Curley Roberts, says artistic expressions such as roots plays are what Jamaicans need in these times.
“Our last and biggest production had to come to a halt because of the COVID measures, leaving the entire cast and production team out of work,” Roberts explained. “Additionally, we would need several months of shows to actually start seeing back some amount of profit.”
He added, “When someone can walk up to you after a show and say someone in my family died and just coming and watching your play or a stand-up comedian was the ideal therapy, that is worth a weight in gold.”
The rapid increase in COVID-19 cases will never be a source of comedic relief for Roberts, but he hopes future decisions will not be beneficial to some and a hindrance to others.
He hopes lessons will be learnt from the recent missteps and greater care will be taken to ensure that all Jamaicans get an opportunity to earn, while the fight continues to get rid of public enemy number one – COVID-19.