Jamaican Olympian and world sprint champion, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has added her voice to the call for the restart of sporting activities in Jamaica.
In a lengthy Instagram post on Saturday, Fraser-Pryce said she does not support some public figures encouraging the government to hold off on resuming sports.
“It is my view that in the interest of the athletes, along with the national and global psyche and the thousand(s) who depend on the industry, we should strongly resist talk of “holding off” on the process allowed for a formal, but controlled and safe resumption of sporting events”, she wrote.
Fraser-Pryce didn’t name names and she also stated that she did not want to take political sides, but the Jamaican sprinter was likely referring to comments made by the opposition spokesperson on health and wellness, Dr. Morais Guy, who a few days earlier, had urged the government to rethink its decision to resume sporting activities.
Before the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, the Government had given the green light for the resumption of sporting activities. But within one day of the announcement, the island broke the record for the highest number of COVID-19 cases reported in a day.
The spike in cases and the new 8 PM curfew led to the cancellation of several athletic meets planned for last weekend.
Fraser-Pryce, a double Olympic gold medal winner and four-time world champion, noted that in other countries, COVID-19 safety protocols have been adopted to allow sporting events to resume. She said the same can be done locally.
“I am confident it is not beyond us here in Jamaica to put in place similar systems to limit the risk of Covid-19 spread while at the same time allowing for reasonable resumption on the Sports industry which has contributed so much to Brand Jamaica,” she said.
Fraser-Pryce said that there is no evidence that sporting events, with no spectators, are likely to contribute to a spike in cases.
