KINGSTON, Jamaica — Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the Government is on track to introduce legislation for the ticketing of people not wearing masks in public, as part of coronavirus (COVID-19) containment measures stipulated in the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA).   

Speaking at a digital media briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister Media Centre, on Monday (March 8), Holness said the Administration is “very close” to completing work on the supporting legislation.

“The whole ticketing process is now at our Legislative Committee, which is the penultimate stage before it reaches Parliament. I had promised it would come within the first week of the new Budget year… so we are on track,” Holness said.

 The Prime Minister indicated that ticketing is among measures that require legislation to strengthen enforcement.

Holness said there is also a proposal from Church stakeholders, with whom he met recently, for sanctions against institutions flouting COVID-19 infection-prevention protocols.

“They pointed out that there needs to be greater enforcement against [those] institutions… as well on those persons who have such spaces,” he said, adding that “this is also being contemplated.”

While pointing out that the existing laws under the DRMA allow for “some level of enforcement”, Holness explained that “some of these… have to be thoroughly debated before we can come to the [appropriate] legislative conclusions”.

He noted that the Government has been “very careful and very cautious” not to “impose too much on the public’s freedom” during the pandemic, despite the increased case count.

“But, I believe we are at a stage now… we have to be far more assertive in the enforcement of the protocols, because it is now putting the entire public good at risk. We have done all that we can in balancing lives and livelihoods, and the equation and balance has now shifted to saving lives,” Holness said.

He further emphasised that having targeted a three-week timeline to monitor and assess the revised protocols now in place, “if they don’t work, then there would be more measures to come”.