‘We will shut you down’ - Tourism minister warns entities who ignore COVID protocols

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has warned that tourism entities that fail to comply with health and safety protocols designed to facilitate the phased reopening of the tourism sector amid the COVID-19 pandemic will be shut down.

Speaking at the Golf View Hotel in Manchester, during a tour of the newly opened South Coast Resilient Corridor on the weekend, he stressed that: "If you are not COVID- compliant we are going to shut you down, whether you're big or you're small, because we cannot compromise on health security."

The new corridor was introduced on July 15. Similar to the North Coast Resilient Corridor, which was introduced in June, this area will welcome visitors with robust health and safety protocols.

Bartlett said: "The start of the south coast phase of the reopening is very important to us," noting that "this is a really popular region for Jamaicans and some international visitors, because this is country-style tourism."

Importance of collaboration

Bartlett underscored the importance of tourism interests working in collaboration with various ministries and agencies, including the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Health and Wellness, in ensuring adherence to the protocols and effectively managing the process of containing the viru "to keep Jamaica safe, secure and seamless for ourselves first and our friends and visitors".

A team is in place, comprising government personnel and private-sector stakeholders, to monitor and ensure compliance.

"So, the message to the south coast is that this corridor is going to be managed as tight, if not tighter, as we are trying to manage the northern corridor, and breaches within this corridor are going to be met with very strong action," he said.

"This is not just a south coast edict, this is a Jamaica edict; it's for every tourism facility that is operating in Jamaica."