The Hon. Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, minister of culture, gender, entertainment and sport is calling on to members of entertainment industry to follow COVID-19 protocols established by the Government.
Grange’s latest appeal comes after the death of veteran dancehall producer, Barry O’Hare.
The 56-year-old died at University Hospital of the West Indies, in St Andrew on Saturday after testing positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19) earlier in the week.
“I’m shocked and very concerned about the number of persons in this industry who are being affected by COVID and who we are losing. I’m making a very special appeal to people in the industry that they must observe the protocols that are established by the Ministry of Health,” Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange told the Jamaica Observer.
“They must wear the mask. They must keep their distance. They must sanitise on a regular basis. They must be more careful, especially those with underlying health issues,” she continued.
Barry O’Hare was much revered in the entertainment industry for his work, both in-studio as well as mega stage show productions. The 56-year-old has worked with many of Jamaica’s greatest entertainers including, Tanya Stephens, Diana King, Yami Bolo, Jack Radics, Prezident Brown, Mikey Spice, Morgan Heritage, Shaggy, Sean Paul, Beres Hammond, Third World, Burning Spear, among others.
In a tribute, Shaggy called Barry O’Hare a lifelong friend. “Woke up today to some sad news,” Shaggy wrote. “Lost our dear brother @barry_ohare_jamaica. Barry was my engineer’ and a great guy, he was instrumental in helping to establish shaggy and friends especially on the technical side and engineered a lot of the shows , we toured together for years , he made us sound great night after nights. Thank you for your friendship your talent and love! Rest well my brother R.I.P. condolences to his family. Ps. F@#k 2020!”
On Saturday, Jamaica recorded seven more COVID-19 deaths, bringing the total to 67.
The country also recorded 230 new infections with ages ranging from 1 day to 104 years, increasing the overall figure to 4,988 cases with 3,489 of them being active.
