Lockdown not the solution, says Hanover’s MOH

WESTERN BUREAU:

With several interest groups calling on the Government to readjust the New Year’s Eve curfew to an earlier time than the designated 1 a.m. as a COVID-19 controlling measure, Dr Kaushal Singh, the medical officer of health (MOH) for Hanover, says lockdown and the restriction of movement is not a solution to the problem.

“We need to take decisions as a nation. By taking everything into perspective – we have been in a pandemic mode for some time – certainly, restrictions have some impact on transmission, but a lot of other things have to be considered, like people’s mental health,” said Singh.

“The point is that we have to take precaution, precaution is the main focus; no pandemic can be controlled without the people’s participation. You can put whatever restrictions you want, but if the people are not willing to comply, it is not going to be contained,” added Singh.

Drawing reference to numerous illegal gatherings that have been taking place across the island, in defiance of the Disaster Risk Management Act, Singh said that unless a way can be found to get the people to become compliant, getting the pandemic under control will remain a major challenge.

According to him, Hanover was one of the last parishes to start having positive cases of the virus, as residents were quite vigilant in taking steps to keep it out of the parish.

“Remember, at the beginning of the epidemic in Jamaica, the parish of Hanover was about two or three months behind the other parishes with regard to the introduction of positive cases. All that happened was that the people participated, they had this mentality that we have to prevent it,” said Singh.

SLIGHT INCREASE IN COVID CASES

He added that presently, like the rest of the island, Hanover is now seeing a slight increase in the number of positive cases of the virus. He said the health authorities in the parish have put things in place in preparation for what could be a fourth wave of the virus.

With an estimated 75,500 residents in Hanover, Singh said that between 24 and 28 per cent of the population has been vaccinated to date. He said many of the vaccinated persons have been turning out for booster shots.

Singh is urging residents to continue to follow the health and safety protocols to prevent the spread of the virus, saying he is concerned about the well-being of his staff, who, in many cases, are being overworked.

“One thing is that the way the cases are increasing, the staff is tired. We have to give them their required leave, so there is always a shortage of staff, particularly in the area of nursing. Second, we are trying hard to hire, but if we do not have a pool from which to hire, that poses a problem,” noted Singh, who said that while the present staff members are trying their best to meet the demand on the health facilities, it is happening at the risk of their personal health.

Singh also noted that there are approximately 36 active COVID-19 cases in isolation in Hanover as at December 28. He said the parish has seen approximately 3,098 confirmed positive cases since the pandemic hit the island.

With Hanover being one of the island’s premier tourist destinations, Singh said that over 294,000 visitors have passed through the parish since the reopening of the country’s borders in 2020.