Chairperson, honorable judges, Ladies and gentlemen, my worthy but misled opponents

good evening. The task here is simple and this evening my teammates and I stand resolute
to propose moot be it resolved ‘It is the citizens’ responsibility to stop the spread of the
coronavirus.’
Now, opponents, please follow me. As your first speaker, I will be defining the key terms of
the moot, highlight the history of COVID 19, and state why the citizens' are responsible. My
second speaker will give examples and statistics on how when responsibility is taken the
virus is contained and my third speaker will reinforce such. Before we come to our actual
argumentation, let us first define the key terms in this debate. The key terms of the moot
are citizens, responsibility, and spread. According to The Oxford dictionary, citizens may be
defined as an inhabitant of a particular town or city; responsibility may be defined as a
moral obligation to behave correctly towards or in respect of, and Spread is defined as to
extend over a large or increasing area.
Therefore, the moot can be restated that it is the inhabitants of a particular town obligation
to stop COVID 19 from expanding over a larger area. Quite logical.
The world is tussling with an issue of a large scale and massive human impact, the pandemic
of COVID-19. The virus began in 2019 in Wuhan, China, as an epidemic hence the term
COVID 19. By March 2020, the virus became a pandemic and we were forced to
comprehend what it is and its means of spreading. The World Health Organization made no
delay in conveying information, that the best way to prevent this illness is to avoid being
exposed to this virus. Person-to-person was identified as the primary exposure; that is,
people who are in close contact with each other. Other ways are through respiratory
droplets produced when an infected person, coughs, sneezes, or talks. Notice, my
opponents, the pronouns and nouns used by the World Health Organization, are personal
nouns and pronouns and no mention was made of the government nor any other party. We,
the citizens, are carriers or potential carriers of this virus and will cause a spread if the
necessary precautionary measures are untaken. Therefore, it can be nobody’s responsibility
than citizens.
Let us go down a memory lane; where were you on the 10th of March 2020 when Jamaica
confirmed its first case of the coronavirus? How did this virus come to Jamaica? According
to an article posted on the 10th of March on the Ministry of Health and Wellness’s website,
the spread started by a Jamaican female who entered the island on the 4th of March and
presented to the public health system on March 9th with symptoms of the virus. It was later
discovered that she attended a funeral, persons from the funeral were tested and as was
expected, some were confirmed to be positive. Though she was unaware, she had the virus
when she entered the country if she had known it would have been her responsibility to
take the measures which would have prevented a spread.
Presently, how do we prevent ourselves from being exposed or to contribute to the spread
of the virus? We are constantly reminded to wash our hands often, avoid close contact, and
to cover our mouth and nose with a mask when around others. Or if tested positive, SELF-
ISOLATION AND QUARANTINE ARE A MUST! All of these measures are what WE, as citizens,
are responsible to take.
I would be very disappointed if my opponents state it is the responsibility of the
government. Allow me to assist you; the government is a collective body who works
alongside the Prime minister of Jamaica The honorable Andrew Holness and may I remind
you he Is not omnipresent he cannot be everywhere, therefore, let us shun such a premise.
We won’t be caught up in your web of lies. By failing to consider variations between the
government and citizens’ responsibility the plan to stop the spread of the virus will never be
successful. You may even continue arguing that these measures were put in place by the
government, but whose responsibility is it to ensure these measures are implemented? It is
YOU, ME, US… CITIZENS. The government has done its part by educating and conveying
information that we MUST put into practice. We absolutely cannot expect someone needs
to take our hands to wash them, put on our masks for us, or to lock our doors so we can
‘TAN A WE YAAD.’It must be the responsibility of the citizen seeing we are the occupants of
the country. It cannot be that of the animals or another nation, we are to set our house in
order.

Thomas Maak, a lecturer at the University of Melbourne wrote an article entitled the COVID
19 responsibility we all own. He stated, “Call it common sense or call it self-leadership’, as
citizens, we all have a responsibility to heed the current health advice or risk increasingly
severe government restrictions. The government can set measures, but it is up to us to take
steps, listen, and think about the impact of our actions. Have you under no circumstances
performed anything on your initiative, my opponents?
Being responsible citizens is significant as its Jamaica’s way of moving towards sustainable
development and prosperity. We want to stand resolute to make Jamaica a place of choice
to live, raise families, and do business. Please don’t be a part of that number and hinder
such aim by ignorance and being careless. Unlike you my opponent we are patriots. it is not
hard to understand that COVID doesn’t move without a person. If a citizen who believes that
his or her circumstances warrant exceptional consideration for a waiver of taking
responsibility for one’s self, with no ethical dilemma present, I must conclude one lacks self-
discipline. Reasonably, the situation has given us a chance to look at things differently.
The WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated in addressing the issue of
COVID 19, “The trajectory is in our hands, and it’s everybody’s business, and we should all
contribute to stopping this pandemic,” Success will come from the changes in our behaviour
and how we move around. Shaking of hands, hugging and kissing is a thing of the past. Wear
face masks, wash hands regularly, and avoid contact with other people. ” He was referring
to residents my opponents, not spirits or the government.
Please pay your part in advancing the welfare of the whole human race. If I can be of no
further assistance, these are my submissions. Thank You.
Example

Isn’t it our responsibly to decide what we eat, isn’t it our responsibility to take
care of our immediate environment, isn’t it our responsibility to to take care our
our health? may I remind you that we are no longer under slavery therefore the
mental of being controlled is not in effect. We are to take responsibility four our
lives. Let us look at our church for example. The heads of the Oracabessa New
Testament Church of God saw it fit to implement Facebook live as a means of
getting church services across to the members due to the fact that a limited
number of members were allowed to visit. The heads, as citizens, saw it fit to
ensure that they, along with their members took the on responsibility of
maintaining physical distancing by staying home. The most important aspect is
that the members listened and obeyed. Can you imagine what would’ve
happened if these members did not take responsibilities for their actions? The
point I am making in all of this is, WE ARE ALL RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR
BEHAVIOUR…. THOUGH RULES ARE SET OVER US… IT IS OUR
RESPONSIBILTY TO ADHERE TO THEM. How hypocritical it is to be on
sided-