COVID-19 will restore proper hygiene – doctor

WESTERN BUREAU:

The novel coronavirus pandemic is helping to re-establish proper hygiene and cough etiquette to prevent disease spread, Dr Marcia Graham, medical officer of health for Westmoreland, has said.

COVID-19, the disease that has killed almost 6,000 people worldwide and infected around 160,000, will force Jamaicans to go ‘back to the basics’ by adopting healthier habits, she told the regular monthly meeting of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation on Thursday.

“Let me tell you, there are a lot of opportunities in this crisis. We have gone away from some healthy habits, and the Lord has spared us from a lot of ill-effects,” she said.

Guard against transmission

The medical officer of health also reiterated that Jamaicans should guard against transmission of the disease by coughing or sneezing, .

“We know that the disease is spread by droplets; as such, our main message continues to be cough etiquette. The droplets won’t go in the environment if we practise proper cough etiquette,” Graham said.

“Some of us, we lapse when we are at home; and when we are in public, we do the proper thing and cover our mouth when coughing,” she added.

There have been eight confirmed COVID-19 cases in Jamaica.