Public Health Inspector on the Front Line Against COVID-19

Like many persons in critical sectors, Public Health Inspector, Varon England, had her own fear of the coronavirus (COVID-19), but her commitment to public safety vanquished all misgivings, and she stood with those who battled the emergency.

Public Health Inspectors are responsible for the inspection of facilities such as restaurants, day cares and pools to prevent transmission of germs, and to ensure a healthy population.

Miss England who works with the Kingston and St. Andrew Health Department, shares that the tasks of the public health officials are varied, so “you pack each day for any possible duty”.

“We are the persons who go out and ensure that sanitation is done properly, we carry out public education” as well as do regular checks at the ports of entry, she informs.

She says their training prepares them to be calm, decisive, sociable and observant, and given the anxiety caused by the virus, those traits had to be relied on to lessen the effects of COVID.

“I felt a sense of duty. I had taken on this job and I felt that it was my responsibility to do so, and I did not shy away from it,” she shares, adding that “I wanted to contribute to controlling the spread, and I knew that it could have infected me, and I also knew that if I did not do my job, the spread would have increased even more,” she says.

The work of the inspectors became heightened during the pandemic, as they had to issue quarantine orders, administer the quarantines, and visit homes of persons who were infected with the virus.

Of importance to the inspector was the fact other officers were braving the danger for the public good, and “I wanted to be with them,” she notes. “Whenever there was an outbreak, it was our responsibility to go into the schools and business places to oversee the cleaning and sanitisation and ensure that it was done in the correct order,” she outlines.

Miss England strongly believes that given the various protocols now in place for contagious diseases, the population is “better equipped” to manage future pandemics. “Jamaicans are now more aware of their personal responsibility when it comes to spread of those diseases,” she says.

She also wants more embracing of public health inspectors by community members, as they are at the forefront of “preventing disease outbreaks in communities” and work to improve the sanitisation status of all sections of the island.

Other functions of public health inspectors are to assess risks to human health and impact on the environment from nuisances and hazards. They do surveillance of solid waste management systems and disease vectors such as rodents and mosquitoes.

They also monitor operations of factories, workshops, farms, schools, health facilities, public buildings, residential homes, day care centres, and other facilities. It is their responsibility, as well, for inspection and registration of persons for food-handlers permits and premises for meat shops, personal care facilities such as barber shops, potable water sources, and public swimming areas such as pools, rivers, and beaches.