Talkback Tuesday | What else should the government do to fight COVID-19?
Published:Wednesday | March 25, 2020 | 12:23 AM
On Monday, the Government announced further measures, including limiting public gatherings to 10, to contain the spread of COVID-19. What more do you believe should be done?
* Complete lockdown!! The country needs to take a page from the Bahamas. They started with curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. and now they have implemented a 24-hour curfew starting today. No vehicles on the road except for food or medical runs. And the kicker is: they only have four confirmed cases, we have 21. Don’t wait until it gets out of hand to lock-down. Don’t wait for what’s happening in Italy .
* I think Jamaica is doing a terrific job. The only thing needed now is giving taxpayers a stimulus cheque to offset some bills.
– @dt_labenze
* Complete shutdown. The faster the better. Before the healthcare system crashes.
* 100 per cent increase in the number of persons tested and total lock down for at least 10 days.
– @romainetherealest
* Increase the fines that relate to quarantine and violation of immigration requirements.
* Use ZOSO to monitor person’s temperature on the road; get the police and soldiers to curfew the streets. People need to stay home. Only essential workers on the road. – @juliomaragh
* Have harsh penalties for those who don’t follow the rules that the Government put in place.
* All funerals and weddings should put off until further notice. Government is saying only 10 is allowed at these gatherings but remember it only takes one for this thing to spread.
– @paulinelivingston
* Call centres have more than 20 persons, much less 10. Something needs to be done about that. – @tannidiva
* Lock down Jamaica for a month.
– @keishahaynes8
* More must be done to remedy the economic fallout of COVID-19. For example, what happens to tenants whose contracts do not provide for pandemic related issues? What happens when they cannot pay rent, whether residential or commercial? The government needs to make more defined and comprehensive impositions on financial institutions/creditors to the effect of alleviating the economic effects of this pandemic. - @pay.legal
* Test as many people as possible and who want to be tested and do not quarantine the sick with the healthy. - @aceistv1
* Do not overlook the fact that thousands of workers have been laid off due to COVID-19. The government needs to provide financial aid for basic needs. After all, what have we been paying taxes for? - @dradeonator
* Equip more facilities to accommodate the expected cases. We have to move to provide temporary facilities for communities. It can’t just be about quarantine. We need ventilators and temporary medical stations everywhere. A doctor and five nurses to every 100 cases minimum. - @teenatemcclear
* Shut down the entire country temporarily but for essential services. That’s what other countries are doing who are further ahead in the crisis than we are. Must we wait to get to their dreadful stage before we take stronger preventative measures? Why we so stubborn and hard ears? - @Zemi66
* Implement curfew in and around cities/towns - @JHype876
* The police and military could do random checks through communities to ensure people are not congregating in their favourite spots. We know that there are those who listen but they don’t hear and will forever be noncompliant. - Cemon DeLisser
* In my opinion, only supermarkets and pharmacies should stay open. - Marcia Sassi
* Try a public private partnership to provide a place to quarantine all individuals who have direct contact with coronavirus patients so as to avoid the spread of the virus. Home quarantine is not working and if they don’t get them now, soon it will get out of control just like Italy or US. - Morris Dane
* Do a major clean up of all gullies and make Jamaica clean again. - Bridgette Davis
* Close schools for the rest of the year. - @razor_pubgm