War in Europe and its disastrous consequences notwithstanding, Jamaicans have had some good news for a change in very recent times.
Yesterday, in this space, we noted significant improvement on the security front with murders and major crimes seemingly on a downward trend alongside a considerable surge in the seizure of illegal guns and ammunition.
As we all know, the latter development — which we are inclined to suspect may be related to greater sophistication in the gathering of intelligence — is always likely to have a major impact on violent crime.
Also, we note the rapid fall in COVID-19 cases here in recent weeks. On Wednesday, the positivity rate — which is the number of positive cases as a percentage of tests done — was 4.6 per cent. That’s the second day in a row the rate had fallen below the World Health Organization (WHO) benchmark of five per cent.
Indeed, according to the Ministry of Health and Wellness, the positivity rate on Tuesday was just 1.6 per cent.
Very importantly, in sync with reports globally, hospitalisations and deaths as a result of COVID-19 are trending down. On Wednesday, hospitalisations from COVID-19 in Jamaica were 107, down from in excess of 500 in mid-January.
That means overworked, overstressed hospital staff members are under much less pressure.
Just as critically, the continuing fall in COVID-19 cases fits neatly with the Government’s decision last month to return to full face-to-face classes in public schools come Monday, after the midterm break.
As Jamaicans are painfully aware, since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, the education system has been largely dependent on online teaching and learning, with many children disenfranchised because of their depressed economic circumstances.
The situation improved to some extent in recent times, with attendance in physical school staggered to facilitate social distancing requirements.
This newspaper notes word from Government, that in order to assist the preparation of schools for full resumption of classes, “additional funds are being disbursed for sanitisation and procurement of furniture where needed”.
We are told that “the ‘three to six feet’ social/physical distancing condition has been relaxed, which means that classroom seating can be arranged to reflect the usual spacing of desks and chairs prior to the COVID-19 restrictions. In classrooms where the three to six feet rule has been eased, there should be increased vigilance and monitoring of the students for mask-wearing, temperature checks, and for any signs of illness”.
We are well aware of ‘many a slip twixt the cup and the lip’, so we won’t be surprised if not all schools are able to meet all requirements in time for Monday.
But after two years of dislocation for students — far too many of whom will not go back to school — well-thinking Jamaicans are happy to have returned to a time such as this.
We know that because of the country’s low vaccination rate — said to be below 25 per cent — twinned to the accelerated easing of restrictions, some health experts are warning of a possible fifth wave of the novel coronavirus.
Like most Jamaicans, we will be keeping our fingers crossed, even as we urge all our readers to — as much as is humanly possible — abide by the Government’s recommendations and safety protocols.
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