Excerpt from the Jamaica Observer column published Monday, May 31, 2021
By Jean Lowrie-Chin
Although the folks who arrived here for the Mocha Fest series of events may well have been vaccinated, they posed a threat to the unvaccinated staff members who served them and the Negril community in general. Even vaccinated individuals can carry the virus. Government and tourism officials have apologised, but really an event of that size should not have slipped through the cracks.
The outrage of the many Jamaicans in the entertainment and hospitality industry at the sight of videos on social media is absolutely justified. Throughout the island, small community dances bring earnings for DJs, cooks, vendors, and many others. The larger stage shows support scores of performers, event planners, rental companies, and technical personnel. For over a year their earnings have practically disappeared.
What a challenging situation for our Government. While the brickbats are raining on them for the Negril situation, let us acknowledge that their awareness campaign started months before many other countries, that our health workers have been stressed out as they try to deal with so many patients in critical condition, and that there have been reductions recently in the number of deaths and our positivity rate.
There is promise of a sizeable number of vaccines from the US and other sources. If citizens and hospitality workers in resort areas and members of the entertainment industry were vaccinated we would be happy to have such events as Mocha Fest, and to see the revival of the community dances and a later start to nightly curfew. Let us hope we can ease this distressing pressure soon.
Jamaica Highlights 