It is National Heroes Day today, a national holiday. (Here is Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller’s address, if you are so inclined to read it).

I took a quick scan and it seems that the Prime Minister’s Office managed to bring in the ChikV outbreak. Indeed, the speech calls on Jamaicans to be heroes in the face of this illness. Check it out:

A significant number of Jamaicans have either already experienced, or are even now, feeling the severe pain and discomfort of the ChikV.

The ChikV health emergency presents all of us with the opportunity to be modern day heroes and heroines in our own right. In this regard, the fight to ensure the health of the nation, can only be won if we all display personal responsibility in our homes, work places and communities.

I sympathize with those persons who have come down with this painful illness and who continue to feel its effects. For those who have already been through it, I am happy that you are feeling better, and for those persons who are still ailing, I wish you a speedy and full recovery.

We continue to manage and monitor the situation.

There are also real concerns about the global Ebola threat to Jamaica. At this time, the Government continues to put systems in place, and to do all we can in an effort to prevent the Ebola Virus from getting to Jamaica.

We are committed to keeping all Jamaicans informed at every step of the way.

I don’t know…comparing Jamaicans suffering from ChikV to the “real” National Heroes, who fought bravely for things like basic human rights seems slightly distasteful to me. In the wake of severe criticism about the government’s handling of this public health emergency, it seems the Office of the PM is trying to extend sympathies, which is a nice thought. However, this might be in an inappropriate context, as well as too little, too late. It probably won’t matter, though, as I suspect most people are not sitting down reading the speech today, rather they are enjoying this beautiful country.

In any case, we also learned that reggae artist John Holt died last night in London at the age of 69. Here is a good round-up of some of his more well-known hits. Holt is perhaps best known for his time with the Paragons and the hit “Tide is High.”