Internal Communique

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For Immediate Release

The UWI Faculty of Sport Welcomes the Resumption of Sport with the Removal of the DRMA in Jamaica

This is a statement issued by the Dean of the Faculty of Sport, Dr. Akshai Mansingh, JP, MBBS (UWI), FACS, MSpMed (UNSW), DM (Ortho).

The UWI Mona Campus, Kingston, Jamaica. March 23, 2022: The Faculty of Sport at The University of the West Indies (The UWI) welcomes the resumption of sport and the removal of many COVID measures in Jamaica that were introduced by the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA).  

The Faculty of Sport salutes the sacrifice made by athletes and spectators who have had to endure the public health issues presented, which took priority over recreation and sporting activities during a very turbulent time in Jamaica and the world. 

The Faculty of Sport has been at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic’s interference with sport. The very first international sport to have resumed was the West Indies tour of England in 2020, when our expertise was used not only in the planning of that tour in a bio-secure bubble but also in utilizing our Sports Medicine experts to ensure that the squad had proper health coverage.  Since then, our expertise has been used around the world in the organization of many sporting events involving multiple countries or bilateral series.  We have also provided in-depth technical assistance in the region which has always been based on science and the trends in combating the virus at the particular time.

In the case of Jamaica, we note that those who wish to have been vaccinated have had ample opportunity to do so.   We are at a stage now where the current variants of the COVID-19 virus are prevalent but not as lethal as previous variants.   Positivity rates and death rates have plummeted in Jamaica. Additionally, there is greater social awareness regarding hygiene, social distancing, and other measures that were used successfully in combating the pandemic. We feel confident that with that experience and knowledge we should be able to curtail the sharp rise, should a mutation of the virus reappear. 

The Faculty of Sport fully recognizes the impact on society and public health and well-being with the lack of sport and recreational activities.  Through our webinars hosted throughout the pandemic, we have updated public awareness and knowledge to keep people current with trends and practices.  We recognize that this curtailing of sport had significant mental and physical effects on those partaking in them.   We, therefore, are very happy to see that many of these can be reversed with the lifting of all restrictions.  We recognize that things may change but for now, let's join the trend and reward those who have sacrificed so much during the past two years.

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