Spiralling out of control not an option

THE Government had little choice but to re-impose covid19 restrictions.

In fact, given the clear signs of a breakdown of the culture of compliance, accumulated weariness of the changes wrought by the pandemic and the uncertainties surrounding the availability of vaccines, it is surprising even harsher measures were not invoked.

We have moved from a seven-day rolling average of three to dozens of cases, in the space of a few weeks. It is anticipated that the recent Easter holiday period will factor into further spikes.

For now, the Government has held its hand and not issued stay-at-home advisories. It has also limited these measures to three weeks, while allowing some activities to remain open to the public, though under the now-usual restrictions.

It is of note that, with Ramadan currently being observed by Muslims, religious gatherings remain permissible once they are subject to 50 per cent capacity, as well as the usual standards applying to gatherings.

In this regard, it is lamentable that little has been done to explain the distinction between public and private spaces in terms of enforcement. The blurred lines should have been clarified through legislation.

Or, at the very least, clearer operational manuals and policies should have been disseminated to reduce the possibility of perceived bias or favoritism. If we have learned anything by now, it is the damaging impact of inconsistent application of the law. Such inconsistencies undermine the overall authority of not only of the police, but also the State itself.

Equally bad is the fact that any hint of confusion at this stage likely to embolden those who may wish, this time around, to keep the party going. This is compounded by the poor example set in recent weeks by high-ranking government officials.

In short, having let the genie out of the bottle it is going to be hard to put it back in. While we have hope in citizens’ ability to comply, law-enforcement authorities must prepare themselves to fall under increased strain in this three-week period.

A few days ago, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh singled out the Muslim community for praise and called on the country to be disciplined.

“It is that discipline we need to get back to, to bring the numbers down,” Mr Deyalsingh said. “But it may get worse before it gets better.”

We hope it does not come to that.

The truth is, even with many people complying, it only takes a few slips or wilful breaches for the situation to deteriorate exponentially.

Plainly, it is not just deference to any one community that is behind the reluctance to invoke a full lockdown. As Government has stated repeatedly, we cannot afford another suspension of all of our affairs.

And spiralling out of control is simply not an option for anyone.