THERE has been consternation in some circles since the Jamaican Government made an about-turn in its decision to allow a limited number of spectators for this month’s white-ball series between West Indies and Ireland in Kingston.

After initially giving approval for over 2,000 vaccinated people to enter Sabina Park for the cricket contests, the decision was reversed this week amidst a rise in novel coronavirus cases, widely believed to be driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

In outlining the decision, a statement from Minister of Local Government Desmond McKenzie said “in light of the rising positivity rate” it is “simply not practical to give the green light for public access to these games” at this time.

But former Jamaica and West Indies batsman Easton McMorris said the reversal by the Government has left him perplexed.

“Something is wrong — I’m confused,” he told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

“People can wear masks, [and] they can social distance inside the venue. We got vaccinated in order to move about without all the restrictions, [but] we can’t go to a cricket match,” the 86-year-old McMorris lamented.

His compatriot and former West Indies teammate Jackie Hendriks was also critical of the decision.

“It’s a very short-sighted decision and I don’t see any science in it at all. I don’t quite understand, really. There can be all the social distancing you need with the number of seats of about 20,000 at Sabina Park,” Hendriks, 88, said.

Minister of Sport Olivia Grange told the Observer that, while she shares the disappointment of many cricket fans, she believes the move to bar spectators is necessary.

“Although I’m disappointed, I completely understand the need for it. All of us agree that the health of the nation comes first and anything that will keep the country and our athletes safe must be done, especially as we are facing the possibility of a fourth wave,” she said yesterday.

Grange continued that she will be “leading that charge” once it is deemed safe to “resume sports with spectators”.

Jamaica has moved from consistently recording fewer than 100 confirmed virus cases daily up to December 23 to 329 on Thursday, increasing the total number of infections since the start of the pandemic to 93,920.

In August, when Jamaica hosted a two-Test cricket series between West Indies and Pakistan, no spectator was allowed into the stands. Then, the Government was grappling with an uptick in COVID-19 cases, and outside of television and radio broadcast crews, even the media were barred.

Jamaica’s hosting of international football and other sporting events have also come with challenges. The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) was not granted approval for spectators to attend the Reggae Boyz’s Fifa World Cup qualifier against Canada at the National Stadium in October.

However, a month later, 5000 people were approved for the Jamaica versus United States qualification match at the venue. The JFF is banking on home support for the country’s next World Cup qualifier against visitors Mexico on January 27.

In the heavily money-driven horse racing industry the story has been different. Fans have been allowed inside Caymanas Park since June 2020, even during the on-and-off series of tight lockdowns after Jamaica’s first virus case was identified in March of that year.

Up to the last race day on December 27 there was no vaccination requirement for entry to the horse racing venue.

Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) Chief Executive Officer Courtney Francis told the Observer the lack of transparency is a concern.

“I can’t comment [outside of cricket] because I don’t know what agreement the Government has with horse racing,” he said.

“The challenge that I’m having is that there should be a standard formula. I believe, for example, we should use variables to determine when we call off stuff with respect to spectator attendance. So, if the positivity rate reaches a certain level then it should trigger a certain action. The State should have a standard by which all activities related to crowds are measured by,” Francis added.

That aside, the JCA CEO said he accepted that the Government has a duty to institute measures to limit the spread of the virus.

“It is something we just have to work with because it’s part of the DMRA [Disaster Risk Management Act],” he said.

“Like anything else we would be disappointed that after so long we still won’t be able to get in some of our box holders and other spectators to watch the game. But we understand that we have to secure lives and make sure that whatever we do is for the greater good,” Francis explained.

Ireland and the West Indies are scheduled to play three One Day Internationals on January 8, 11, and 14, respectively, to be followed by a one-off Twenty20 match on January 16.

Some members of the Ireland party were expected to land in Jamaica yesterday, while others — some of whom tested positive for the virus during their recent tour of United States — are expected to arrive in the coming days.