Garth A. Rattray | The logical COVID-19 mitigation

UNTIL PHARMACEUTICAL treatment and/or vaccines are available, we must fight the SARS-CoV-2 virus with scientific observations and mitigation measures. The Ministry of Health and Wellness has tried valiantly to act in a thoughtful, quick, measured and efficient manner during the handling of this horrific pandemic.

Jamaica was doing pretty well with mitigation measures aimed at flattening the (infection) curve until the veritable explosion of COVID-19 cases at Alorica, a Portmore-based business process outsourcing (BPO) company.

Many of us saw this coming because several BPO employees repeatedly and publicly complained about the lack of adequate social distancing and other lax anti-COVID-19 measures that BPOs seemed to have. On occasions, I have advised BPO workers, who began complaining to me months ago, to leave the job if they wanted to remain healthy and alive.

Alorica asserted that they were adhering to the safety protocols imposed by the Jamaican Government and that they received a passing health inspection report on April 1, 2020. But, the minister of health announced that the entity “ … did not follow established guidelines”.

Then, the prime minister made public the Government’s intention to “ … investigate Alorica and pursue charges under the Disaster Risk Management Act”. But, more recently, the chief medical officer reported that Alorica was in full compliance.

Since BPOs are designed to accommodate many workers, close together within sealed, air-conditioned spaces, in this all-important, economy-wrecking, life-and-death matter, the Government should have instituted the most rigorous inspection programme and stringent, anti-COVID-19 measures imaginable for all call centres.

It should have been impossible to find new measures to impose on BPOs. However, new measures were found, after the fact; measures that would have prevented this horrible fumble. Sadly, they dropped the ball on this one. That faux pas will affect us all.

FATAL FLAW

Then, the plan to lock down St Catherine had a fatal flaw; it should have been announced at a time when the nationwide curfew was in effect. That way, potential, expected and suspected infected individuals would not have had the opportunity to contact friends and relatives, and the massive exodus would have been thwarted.

The COVID-19 virus hitched innumerable rides in bodies as they ‘escaped’ Portmore. Where they are now is anyone’s guess but, in a few weeks, we will all know because clusters of infection will pop up all over the place.

No one wants a nationwide lockdown, but it seems to me that it is the best option. Some ‘authorities’ have kiboshed the measure, claiming that lockdowns are only temporary measures that destroy the economy and, in the very long run, don’t save enough lives to warrant such a drastic move.

Sweden has decided against going the lockdown route, and some claim that their method is working. To flatten the curve, that country chose to pursue what they view as a natural and sustainable policy in order to protect their economy. They advocate avoiding travel, working from home where possible, and isolating yourself if you feel unwell.

Even the bars and restaurants remain open. However, a recent exposé revealed that its deaths per capita is higher than the USA, and about 50 per cent of those killed live in homes for the elderly. The World Health Organization wants Sweden to do more, and 2,000 Swedish scientists have signed a petition out of fear that the current policies will cause many more deaths.

Jamaica’s renown indiscipline, laissez-faire attitude and high proportion of citizens living way below the poverty line, eking out a daily, hand-to-mouth subsistence and housed in cramped and crowded edifices, often lacking in basic amenities, will make a lockdown a living hell for many.

But we need to bite the bullet because I fear that, without such a drastic measure, many lives will be lost, and our economy will be devastated.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.