Portland shopkeeper promoting COVID-19 safety and awareness
Published:Monday | April 27, 2020 | 4:52 PM
Judana Murphy, Gleaner Writer
Kathleen Warner, a shop owner in Belle Castle, Hector's River, Portland has implemented measures to protect herself, customers, and family at all costs against the coronavirus.
Her shop and many others in the community have recently become public education spots, following the health and wellness ministry’s distribution COVID-19 posters in sections of Portland last week.
Hector's River is one of three Portland communities on health authorities' COVID-19 awareness radar.
Of the 350 national cases, the parish has reported seven confirmed cases of the virus.
The 65-year-old told The Gleaner that the added hygiene practices at her shop were triggered by the overwhelming news coming out of the United States.
Warner noted that she has a daughter in the United States who works in healthcare.
“My pressure cyah stay down! Mi end up inna Port Antonio Hospital fi one whole day in March. The doctors never sent me home until it went down,” she said.
Before restocking goods in the shop, Warner wipes down the items, particularly those packaged in plastic and canned good, with a solution of bleach and water.
“I use paper towel and hold the money when I’m taking it from the customers, I put it down and then I spray it with disinfectant. When I’m finished with each customer, I wash my hands or sanitise,” she explained.
Further, the shop owner has refrained from venturing into the towns of Port Antonio or Morant Bay, which she said are often crowded.
“Mi shop short a nuff things and the wholesale nuh have it and me decide seh mi not going on the road. It has to stay until it’s available at the wholesale,” she shared.
“This virus is creeping up on us like a monster,” Warner said, urging all Jamaicans to follow the health ministry’s COVID-19 guidelines.
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