Jamaica's Pandemic Panic, Fear and Incompetence

As of 05/03/2020

As of 04/22/2020

10 March 2020: Jamaica got its first coronavirus case after an infected British woman flies to the island to attend a funeral.  

Fear and Panic has been part of this pandemic since it started. We watched people all over the globe panicked in fear once news broke that a deadly virus was spreading around the planet. As the number of people infected and dying started to grow so too did fear and panic. We saw people in some of the worlds riches first world countries lose their damn minds as they run around panic buying, hoarding things like toilet paper and fighting each other for various goods in supermarkets.

We were in shock and awe as the space-age healthcare system in some of the worlds riches countries buckle and collapse under the strain to keep up with the vast number of sick and dying. 

Which is why I am at a lost trying to understand why people are shocked that people in Jamaica are also panicking when faced with the prospects of community lock-down and quarantine while a virus rampage through their communities.

In fact, since panicking has been a part of global reaction to the deadly virus, then panicking should have been expected and planned for by our Government and Bubble Headed Technocrats. Identifying the reason why people are panicking and put plans in place to alleviate people’s fears. If public panic is not kept in check, then it will undermined the best laid plans of mice and men.

One of the biggest fear factors that is driving people to panic was the fear of not having access to food and various supplies. As such, on seeing panic in places like the UK and the USA our government should have had a plan in place to ease peoples fear with regards to lock-downs. Communicate those plans to the people and quickly implement those plans once a lock down was eminent. Show people there is nothing to fear, that they will continue to get access to the things they need.

I will never understand why our technocrats watched "caused and effects" panic overseas and not plan for it in Jamaica. One of the main reasons why people panicked overseas was because they had no faith in the supply chain, so people panic buy out of fear. Anyone who is shocked at people’s reaction to the lock-down and quarantine of the entire parish of St. Catherine is delusional. What we should be shocked about is our Government and technocrats lack of proper planning and implementation. But lack of proper logistics planning and implementation is a Jamaican norm, so we cannot even be shocked at that.

Exodus Movement of Jah People

Announcing that you will lock down the parish of St. Catherine is like the Allies broadcasting to the Nazis when and where the invasion will take place.

Take for example the Government’s announcement of the St. Catherine’s lock-down. The announcement of the lock-down was done a days in advance of the actual lock-down and as such people was given the time to focus on their fears and panic and let me tell you, panicked, they did. With thousands of potential infected people fleeing the parish spreading themselves all over Jamaica. By the time the Government shutdown the main exists it was too late for a proper containment. Vital resources had to be allocated to track down and round up people fleeing the parish.

Our Government knew what needed to be done but instead choose to wait until the USA implement their policy, they just follow what was done, instead of just securing the homeland. In this instance the USA was the last country to follow because they let their arrogance and ignorance get the better of them. After watching the virus rampage through other countries the USA like a arrogant deer in headlights declared that it was not a problem and totally under control until it ran over them.

Trump Response:

• Jan. 22 “We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.”
• Feb. 10: “Looks like by April, you know, in theory, when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away.”
• Feb. 24 : “The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. … Stock Market starting to look very good to me!”
• News conference, Feb. 27 - “It’s going to disappear.” In the early days of the virus’s spread in the United States, Trump repeatedly emphasized that everything was “under control” and that the virus would just “disappear” in warmer months. “It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.”
• Fox News interview, March 4: “I think the 3.4 percent [fatality rate] is really a false number.” even when The World Health Organization warned early on that the global risk was high.
• March 9: “The Fake News Media and their partner, the Democrat Party , is doing everything within its semi-considerable power ... to inflame the CoronaVirus situation.”
• March 10: “We’re prepared, and we’re doing a great job with it. And it will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away.” 

Before the Jamaican Government shut down the airports and during the heights of the global pandemic, they allowed thousands of people to leave the ports of entry and then tried to get them to register with the Ministry of Health after the fact, after they were dispersed around Jamaica. The airport should have had three different checkpoints to service incoming passengers. Immigration, Ministry of Health and then Customs before allowing people to leave the airport.

Time after time our Government left the cow pen opened and then tried to round up the cows, after the cows bolted. In yet another example of Incompetence, at the start of the crisis the Health Minister wanted to enforce a ban of cruise ships that have been known to transport infected people but the Minister of Tourism, Ed “grease palm” Bartlett overrode the Health ministry and allow ships to dock and people to disembark, greed will be the death of us. We later found out that some of the people on those cruise ships were infected with the virus and later quarantined on board in other countries. Time after time the tourism minister who placed wealth over health would override the health minister in a situation that was declared as a Global Health Pandemic and I wondered why.

One of the biggest mistake of the Government involved Jamaicans, sons and daughters of the soil, working on board a cruise ship. The ship came to Jamaica with Jamaican on board who wanted to come home to their birth right and they were refused entry by the Government which was unconstitutional. It would be one thing if these Jamaicans were safe and sound in another country but they were in Jamaica, a few steps away from shore as the ship refueled and they wanted to come home. These Jamaicans who were in Jamaica, In Jamaica's waters should have been allowed to come home and quarantined before joining their families, instead of being transported from port to port like slave crossing the middle passage. looking for a safe harbour. Yet a known COVID patient from the Cayman Islands was flown into the island and the USA is allowed to deport criminals who might be infected.

By now we all know the problems caused by the Call Centers, not only are they training grounds for scammers but now the spreader of COVOD-19 virus. For some reason the Call Centers could operate unregulated and outside the mandate of the Health Ministry guidelines. To date, 278 of the 463 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Jamaica are linked to the Portmore, St Catherine-based call centre, the largest cluster in the country. Everyone is still trying to find out why the call centers could operate outside the Ministry of Health guidelines and why is a call centre regarded are essential services. As of writing this the Government announced that all Call Centres will be closed. Again trying to close the barn door after the horses bolted.

We have all seen images of people in St. Catherine panicking to buy food and some fighting over bread. What the Government failed to do was to ease the fear people had about accessing food supplies. I saw in a report where a company was killing their egg laying hens and dumping eggs because they lost their hotel buyers and all this while people panicked for food. We do not have a problem with food production in Jamaica and in fact because a lot of businesses are closed what we have is a surplus problem, excessive supply. But we also have excessive demand as people panic buy, so what we are missing is a market.

We have farmers who now have surplus of produce trying to come up with ways to distribute that food to the market. We have a Government who lock down an entire parish without making plans to ease people’s fear over food supply treating the situation as business per normal, but it is not business per normal. Our Government should have set up an emergency food buying center thus guaranteeing an alternate market for the farmers produce. This excess food would them be transported to lock down areas and sold to supermarkets and farmers markets showing the people in the lockdown areas that food was the least of their concerns. Our farmers could also form a cooperative, join forces to handle their own supply problem.Leading Trelawny egg farmer braces for $100 million in losses due to COVID-19

The shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Since the start of the pandemic crisis it became clear that personal protective equipment (PPE) was in short supply and that first responders will not have enough to protect themselves. This go even worse when entire populations are now required to wear PPE in public.

As a result the United States have gone on a global rampage confiscating PPE from some of the worlds poorest developing countries. This eat-shit-and-die policy have left some of the worlds most vulnerable countries at risk of extinction because they do NOT have the modern first world healthcare sector like the first world who is being hit hard, mostly because of their own stupidity. 

Thank you European Union!

While the USA is busy confiscating medical equipment the European Union have donated 23 ICU ventilators and 6 portable ventilators to Jamaica.

Thank you Cuba!

So when are the American and UK doctors and nurses coming? NEVER! Or do they just take our doctors and nurses and medical Equipments. I am sure if we need more help China will also step up and offer it.

As per our Colonial Master up North, we are suppose to hate these people who time after time, decade after decade have stepped up and provide help in our hours of great need. Cuba is a little country that keeps giving and giving and giving and Jamaica keep taking and taking and taking with nothing in return. THANK YOU CUBA!

It is amazing to me that Cuba who has been under draconian, inhumane embargo since March 14, 1958 have achieved so much and Jamaica who have embraced American Colonialism/Capitalism have failed at every turn. Cuba a country cut off from the world but able to achieve so much compared to a country like Jamaica. So what is our excuse? How come we struggle to provide basic services and must live at the mercy of handout from Cuba who exist under a wicked, inhumane and draconian embargo that was design to inflict great human suffering.

THANK YOU CUBA!

I say it before and will say it is again, the problem with Jamaica is that it is inhabited by Jamaicans and we should look in the mirror and feel ashamed.

We are ungovernable, indiscipline, materialistic corrupt, greedy, murderous and selfish. Cuba is a country that keeps giving to Jamaica in our times of need, but Jamaica only love to take. We have yet to stand up on the world stage and demand anything on behalf of Cuba because we are afraid of our colonial masters up north.

I can deal with a lot of things, but I cannot deal with pretentious stupidity.

A Family friend called a while ago complaining that due to the Lock-down of St. Catherine her household helper is unable to come to work for the next two weeks and she do not know what she is going to do. It seems uptown is going in full panic mode.

I do not think some people understands what is going on because they seems disconnected from reality. Our helper will get paid for the full two weeks regardless because she needs it and is worth it and persons should try and pay their helpers if only for one week because whatever they thing they will be going through, their employee will be going through worse. If they value that employee’s contribution to their quality of life, they should deposit some money into her account to help out.

Most of us Jamaicans are just one and two generations out of home sweet home lamp and wash pan poverty and our family friend is old enough to experience those days as a way of life. So, I told her to put those skills to good use because if it gets any worse then it is coal stove time.

The enemy of lock-down and containment is fear and panic and anything we can do to alleviate that fear and panic, we should be doing instead of calling the people in the area idiots.

Due to Global Lock Down, the planet can breath again. 

• Pollution and greenhouse gas emissions have fallen across continents as countries try to contain the spread of the new coronavirus. Greenhouse gas emissions are down and air quality has gone up!
• Levels of pollution in New York have reduced by nearly 50%
• In China, emissions fell 25% at the start of the year as people were instructed to stay at home, factories shuttered and coal use fell by 40% at China’s six largest power plants since the last quarter of 2019.
• In Europe, satellite images show nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions fading away over northern Italy. A similar story is playing out in Spain and the UK.
• Overall 2020 may still see a drop in global emissions of 0.3% even after the countries start to open up again.

Seems like nature was forced to take some corrective measures trying re-balance itself...
Natures warning: Check yourself before you wreck your self!

NATURE AND THE PLANET DOES NOT NEED US, WE NEED NATURE AND THE PLANET