Government of Jamaica
The Minister of Tourism Honourable Edmund Bartlett has called for greater personal responsibility and leadership in the fight against Covid -19. This call came against the background of 300,000 vaccines coming into the island on July 30 and was made at the official opening of the Negril Mini Stadium on the same day. He called on the leadership of the Negril Chamber of Commerce, the Destination Assurance Council, the Police, and community organizations to encourage their members to take the vaccine in a bid to give Jamaica a better fighting chance in this pandemic.
According to Minister Bartlett, the challenge of covid-19 is heightened when our citizens are unwilling to comply, “the recovery of tourism, the recovery of the economy and our lives rely heavily on our willingness to take the vaccine and in fact have it.”
He pleaded with Negril residents eighteen and over to register for the vaccine to make use of the opportunity which now presents itself, and to the leaders to carry the message forward.
Minister Bartlett said that getting the vaccination would help the island to see the return of cruise shipping which has been suspended for fifteen months and which has badly hurt hundreds and thousands of tourism workers especially those in the duty-free sector, ground transportation, cruise ports and the “little man” who is struggling to make ends meet.
He alluded to a return of cruise in early September and insisted that, “for full recovery we have to take full responsibility”