The Keith Duncan-led Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) has urged the Government to fast track efforts to implement a ticketing system to strengthen compliance and bring more teeth to the enforcement of COVID-19 protocols, a move it says is more sustainable than the reduction in working hours associated with the increased curfew hours announced by Prime Minister Andrew Holness Tuesday night.

In a statement, the PSOJ said it acknowledged and understood the changes to the islandwide curfew hours and gathering limits that start today as part of the Government’s efforts to contain spread of the coronavirus, which up Tuesday saw 17,908 confirmed cases locally and resulted in the deaths of 362 persons.

However, the organisation representing the Jamaican business community stressed that the increased restrictions could negatively impact recent turnarounds in the economy and unemployment figures.

The measures announced by Holness in Parliament were a reaction from Government to a recent spike in positive COVID-19 cases that included three record daily confirmed case tallies over the previous five days. On Monday alone, the nation recorded more than 400 cases for the first time since the first positive test was reported back on March 10 last year.

“The PSOJ understands these tightened measures are necessary in the wake of the spike in positive COVID 19 cases and the current strain and potential overwhelming of the public health system, however, the reduction in working hours could see some reversal of the recent economic gains and the recovery of jobs,” the PSOJ said.

“The Organisation, therefore, is of the view that there should be a greater emphasis on compliance and enforcement which is a more sustainable approach to controlling the spread of the virus without further curtailing business activity.”

Noting that compliance was where the nation’s greatest challenge lies, the PSOJ said the Government proposed ticketing system should include prohibitive fines that would incentivise citizens to follow guidelines which have been widely disregarded.

“As we are all painfully aware that the Jamaica Constabulary Force have real capacity constraints, the enforcement measures could be supplemented by the Transport Authority, the Municipal Police and Special District Constables,” the organisation said.

“We recognise that even with the addition of these resources, there may still be human resource constraints to effectively manage this ticketing system. The private sector is, therefore, willing to complement these efforts through partnership with security firms,” the PSOJ added as it urged Jamaicans to comply with the COVID-19 protocols.

“Failure to comply will only result in even tighter measures and a prolonged negative impact on the livelihood of every Jamaican due to the slowdown of the nation’s economic recovery.”