Lockdowns have been a failed exercise

THE EDITOR, MADAM:

I WOULD consider myself a concerned citizen residing in the parish of Manchester. I am greatly disturbed by the chaos the newly implemented COVID19 measures have wreaked over the past three weeks. The ‘No movement days’ are quite frankly doing more harm than good. The aim of this operation is to reduce overcrowding, and by extension the spread of the COVID-19 virus; but at this point, this is the worst overcrowding crisis that I have ever witnessed, at banks, supermarkets, ATMs and basically all places of business.

The town of Mandeville and even other town areas like Santa Cruz and Junction, as I have observed, are crammed with people. The streets are choked with bumperto-bumper traffic, and there is confusion everywhere. The daily news reports have also confirmed that the number of COVID-19 cases is in fact increasing. What then is the effectiveness of the prescribed ‘No movement days?’

When the lockdown is lifted on a Wednesday morning, almost everyone is rushing out to conduct their businesses. This is due to the fact that their routine business hours are cut by the days taken from the normal business week.

The turnaround times at places of business have dramatically decreased, due to the high influx of customers who are trying to take advantage of the short business week. This is horribly complemented by scores of people who bundle outside these establishments as they wait, allowing for higher transmission rates.

I strongly believe that the Government should reconsider these measures. We could try going to places of business by surnames, as we did for the distribution of the Government CARE financial packages. The curfew hours could also be tightened on all days of the week, instead of restricting movement on set days. Additionally, the Government could even consider closing our ports and borders for a two-week period in an effort to flatten the curve. The ‘No movement days’ are a failed operation! We need to go back to the drawing board.

SATAJA COKE

Mandeville, Manchester

sataja@stu.ncu.edu.jm