Gov't gets thumbs up for handling of COVID-19 pandemic - RJRGLEANER Don Anderson poll

 

This the finding of the latest RJRGLEANER Don Anderson poll conducted during the last week of July among 1,071 Jamaicans.

 

The first case of COVID-19 was reported in Jamaica on March 10.

 

The government responded to the threat and subsequent increase in numbers by declaring the entire island a disaster zone.

 

It closed the borders, instituted contact tracing, curfews, quarantines and social gathering restrictions as well as mask wearing protocols.

 

The government also implemented a cash transfer programme to support vulnerable businesses and Jamaicans who had lost their jobs.

 

Pollster Don Anderson said those efforts have received the stamp of approval from Jamaicans, with more than seven out of ten Jamaicans saying the government's management of the crisis has been very good or good. 

 

"By and large, people were very satisfied with the way in which the government handled, managed the COVID-19 pandemic. To be specific, 37.4 per cent of all persons interviewed said that they were very happy. They thought that government handled or is handling the COVID-19 situation very well. Another 36 per cent said they thought that government did a good job in this regard. And therefore, when you put those two positives together, you have a total of 73.4 per cent who gave the government a positive rating for the way in which they handled the COVID-19 situation," he revealed. 

 

Another 19.2 per cent gave the government an average rating, while 7.4 per cent of respondents to the poll said the government had done a poor or very poor job.

 

The poll was conducted during the last week of July at a time when Jamaicans were seeing a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases.

 

Reported cases totalled 1,047 up to Tuesday, with 14 deaths. At that time there were 219 active cases.

 

Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced the lockdown of the parish in mid-May following an outbreak of COVID-19 at the Alorica call centre in Portmore.

 

More than 200 people tested positive for the virus as a result of the outbreak at the call centre.

 

The St. Catherine-based facility was blamed for the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases locally and the outbreak led to a temporary shutdown of the business process outsourcing sector.

 

Mr. Anderson said most Jamaicans were of the view that both the management and staff of the particular call centre were to be blamed for the outbreak.

 

Some 36.7 per cent of all persons interviewed believed the breakout was the management's fault while 8.8 per cent said it was the workers' fault. However, Mr. Anderson said the majority of persons - 54.5 per cent - felt that both the management and workers should be held responsible for the outbreak.