Managing Covid: Which route Holness will take going into Christmas?

It is a statement that was celebrated by some, while others expressed surprise at the announcement. But with the country’s daily positivity rate below the WHO standard of five percent, one can understand why Holness was so confident.

Schools are being encouraged to commence face-to-face learning, while gathering limits for certain social events have been eased somewhat.

Bear in mind, this pandemic is an ongoing acid test for world leaders, including Holness, as they try to balance lives and livelihoods amid a flagging world economy.

By now we all know the coronavirus comes in waves and its predictability is just as difficult as navigating the seas. With the discovery of the Omicron variant, the signs are looking ominous, with a fourth wave now billowing in the blustery winter winds. Holness’ wish of not having to declare another period of lockdown might need to be placed in temporary isolation.

Through panic or just by being proactive, the wheels of slowing the spread of the latest covid-19 strain are now in motion yet again in countries across the European Union, the United Kingdom and North America. Travel bans have been swiftly imposed on African nations located in the southern region of the continent where Omicron was first reported, though its origin purportedly came from Belgium.

Jamaica followed lockstep despite leaders of the affected African nations strongly condemning the decision to impose travel bans, calling it highly premature and even racist. The move highlights the crazy world we live in, as well as the high levels of fear the virus is having on the minds of even those in charge of managing this crisis.

How the Holness administration will handle this emerging variant, which experts claim is more transmissible than the delta strain, is yet unclear. A strategy we are certain is being hammered out as we speak and will be made public before December 10. In Parliament on Tuesday, Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton warned that a fourth wave is upon our shores and based on their computations that up to 400 people ostensibly could die from Covid19-induced afflictions. Considering such a predicament, Holness still appears unmoved, reiterating that it’s high time we all live with Covid and get on with our lives. He has signalled his intention with the announcement of a $16 million de-bushing programme, an annual year-end initiative for low-skilled grassroots workers, the majority being party tribalists.

Tourist arrival, except from those African countries blacklisted now, continues to rise and is viewed by the ruling administration as a major fillip for the local economy.

“Get vaccinated” remains their mantra even though there is overwhelming evidence that the efficacy of the vaccine wanes significantly after six months. US Senator and Republican lawmaker Rand Paul has been at loggerheads with his Democratic counterparts against mandating vaccines. Citing numerous studies, Paul, who is a physician, has become more famous for his debates at the Senate hearings with Dr Anthony Fauci – head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the Chief Medical Advisor to the US President – is among those on the side of the medical divide that strongly contends that lockdowns do not work and that vaccine mandates go against the rights of individuals in a democratic society.

Holness, as he should, is paying close attention to these debates while copiously taking notes from his daily briefings on the pandemic here. Given the shared political ideology of the Jamaica Labour Party and the GOP in America, it should not come as a surprise that Holness has steered clear of instituting vaccine mandates and seems determined to move away from enforcing lockdowns.

What is clear too is that there is a developed pattern among nations in their collective fight against the pandemic. Vaccination rates are above 60% in the major EU nations, yet many of them have re-imposed strict lockdown measures due to rising cases among the vaccinated and unvaccinated.

They claim the lockdown measures are necessary and we are in for a rough ride as the fourth wave draweth nigh. So far in terms of managing the pandemic Jamaica tends to follow the narrative from up North, and hence a departure from this collective norm would come as a massive surprise.