COVID-19 affecting Hanover’s disaster preparedness training

Western Bureau:

With the nation now deep into the 2020 hurricane season, Hanover’s preparedness is being undermined as the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the parish’s quest to train shelter managers under the Hanover Disaster Preparedness programme.

In an interview with The Gleaner, Keneisha Stennett-Dunbar, the parish disaster manager, stated that despite the state of readiness of the disaster preparedness committee, some of the newly recruited volunteers for the management of the emergency shelters have not been able to access the necessary training for the task.

“What we wanted to do was to have some face-to-face training (for the new shelter managers) in small groups, but because of the rise in numbers of COVID-positive cases in the parish, we had to put that on hold,” said Stennett-Dunbar, whose committee is working in conjunction with the Hanover Municipal Corporation.

Stennett-Dunbar also pointed out that despite efforts to use technology to bypass the setback, there are several persons who do not have the necessary access and could not be trained, albeit that information, inclusive of reading material, is continually being passed on to them for their enlightenment.

“The fact that we will be utilising larger spaces as shelters, we have some new volunteers and these new volunteers did not receive any training, so we wanted to have some small sessions for training, but this did not materialise,” said Stennett-Dunbar, in explaining that their strict adherence to the health protocols had hampered their ability to conduct the required training.

55 REGISTERED SHELTERS

According to the parish disaster manager, there are 55 registered emergency shelters within the parish. She also noted that, if needed, they will also have access to other facilities such as churches.

“With this COVID-19, we have to maintain a close relationship with the Ministry of Health, so even as it relates to our shelters, they (Ministry of Health and Wellness) have a major role to play, so we continue to communicate to ensure that persons are updated with the current situation so that there is no panicking when the time comes around,” said Stennett-Dunbar.

“What we have also done as it relates to the shelters, is that we will be doing some form of separation, so we will not be mixing the population at the shelters. Once you are 65 years and over, or if you have underlying issues, we will be separating you so that we minimise your risk of being exposed,” she added.

Stennett-Dunbar also advised that resident of the parish should understand that things are totally different now, and they need to follow the necessary guidelines as issued by the Ministry of Health and Wellness.