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Financial analyst Dennis Chung says Jamaica's entertainment sector could die a slow death if it continues to be under lockdown due to COVID-19.
He believes the sector should be reopened for vaccinated people.
Mr. Chung says while there is the threat of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the country can take steps to manage it, otherwise, "in another year's time, we could not have an entertainment industry".
"And if that goes then a part of Jamaica’s attractiveness goes, a very important sector goes in terms of supporting the economy," he warned.
"We've had a situation where, over the past 17/15 months we've been having these lockdowns. You see where inflation is. Poverty is going to rise; crime is going to rise. Are we prepared to deal with that? This is really just another variant. What we have to do is learn to manage it, because another variant will come again. Are we going to lock down again in six months' time?"
Mr. Chung, who was speaking Thursday on the Morning Agenda on Power 106, argued that some members of the entertainment sector will soon move to other industries due to the continued lockdown and this could create "a huge problem".
He suggested the government must move towards allowing entertainment and sporting events with only vaccinated people.
Small businesses worried
Donovan Wignal, President of the Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprise (MSME) Alliance, said some business operators who suffered financial fallout because of the pandemic are worried about the implications of the new Omicron variant on their livelihood.
"We are even more worried about panic that is going to set in if we don’t treat with this new variant and all the talk about the fourth wave coming."
"We need to keep our heads, follow the protocols and do what we have been doing and ramp up the vaccination programme. Stop dumping vaccines," Mr. Wignal asserted.
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