Coronavirus fears hit Old Harbour businesses

The usually bustling town in the south west area of St Catherine was quiet for the most part. Except for a few public passenger transport operators, vendors and shopkeepers, there were large periods of silence.

It felt and looked like a Sunday morning, the hot topic obviously being about the coronavirus with global numbers in excess of 245,000 confirmed cases,  along with more than 10,000 deaths. Importantly though, more than 88,000 infected persons have now recovered. Over the next few days at least the scene will have a familiar look, as the Jamaican government ordered all non-essential work – both private and public – to be done from home.

Supermarkets, restaurants, corner shops, pharmacies, markets, the like, are all exempted under the new decree announced on Monday by Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

The impact of these far-reaching measures imposed, out of necessity and an abundance of caution by the state, is already biting.

“It’s messed up,” said Chris Royal, a taxi driver plying the Old Harbour to Spanish Town route. “But what can we do? We don’t have a choice, we have to comply.”

Speaking to Old Harbour News today Royal said the bottomline is he will be earning less, as taxis have been mandated under the new guidelines to carry one less passenger than they are licensed to transport. “I just had to leave one of my regular passengers a while ago because I cannot bring four people like I normally would. I can only bring three at a time,” he said.

All over the world experts remain clueless as to when this COVID-19 tide is likely to start receding. Scientists are still a long way from creating a safe and effective vaccine approved and ready for the market, a process that usually takes 18 months the earliest.

China, the world’s second largest economy and the original epicenter from where the virus broke out in late December, is just beginning to recover, two-and-half months later.

It’s the exact period of time Chantel Pryce, proprietor of Netcom Computer Solutions, has been waiting for goods she has ordered that are yet to leave the Chinese mainland. Now Pryce must contend with how long she can keep her workers employed due to a significant drop in her customer base.

“People are genuinely afraid… and it’s not a good sight. I understand why they (the government) need to go there because had they not done it and it get out and gotten bad then it would have been a completely different story. I realize it’s an automatic recession with this coronavirus,” she told Old Harbour News.

“It’s going to be rough. We’re considering shuffling them (employees) week on and week off. Come Saturday when I do a sales review of the week and see how it goes; I know each week will probably get worse the longer it drags on; so we’re really thinking about putting in some measures.”

At Infusion Food and Pastry café – a popular eatery located at Gutters, three miles east of Old Harbour town centre, they are experiencing a “30 percent fall” in sales already.

Acting in compliance with new state regulations promoting social distancing, the management has closed off its dining area. Orders are now accepted over the phone or done at the entrance instead of going directly to the cashier.

“We limit the movement inside so we are able to control the space,” said Mark Mardner, principal director of the café.

“We notice a 30 percent fall in sale so far and expect it to get worse.”

“It is serious and people and taking it seriously. I’m trying to hold it as long as possible but if it gets worse we have to think about making some adjustment,” Mardner added. “The intention is to juggle the staff. Limit the days or do a straight week on and week off. Everybody just have to play their part. I don’t intend to close unless I have no other choice.”

According to the latest data supplied by the Ministry of Health and Wellness, there are 16 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Jamaica, 11 of them due to direct travellers and five related to the first confirmed case.

Thirty-nine persons are currently in isolation at hospitals across the island, 25 of that number in government quarantine facilities and 99 in home quarantine. Contact tracing is underway for all cases while 577 contacts are being followed.
The country confirmed its first COVID-19-related death yesterday when a 79-year-old man from Corn Piece in south Clarendon died while being transported from the Lionel Town Hospital to the University Hospital of the West Indies. The deceased, who arrived back in his native homeland from New York last week, is said to have a history of chronic diabetes and hypertension.