Health Promotion Officer Implores Partygoers To Adhere To COVID-19 Protocols

Health Promotion and Education Officer at the Westmoreland Health Department, Gerald Miller, is urging partygoers in the parish to adhere to established coronavirus (COVID-19) protocols when attending entertainment events.

In an interview with JIS News, he said that since the entertainment sector reopened on July 1, there have been reports that patrons continue to flout COVID-19 protocols.

“We have to be responsible and not be careless in our behaviour because the potential is there for our numbers to increase, and we don’t want that to happen,” the Health Promotion and Education Officer cautioned.

According to Mr. Miller, party patrons have a responsibility to abide by the prescribed guidelines, in a bid to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

“These persons who are partygoers, we want them to be responsible. If you want to go out and enjoy yourself, be responsible out there, because sometimes you have your grandparents and mothers and fathers at home and some of these persons are not vaccinated and some of them may have underlying health conditions and you could take the virus home to them,” Mr. Miller said.

He is also reminding residents that COVID-19 is still a clear and present danger, and that they should remain vigilant in the fight against the virus.

“What we have observed in the parish is that persons have become a little bit lax in observing the COVID prevention measures, so we are just reminding the people of Westmoreland to continue to be vigilant because COVID is still around and we can’t be relaxed with the protocols. We don’t want our health facilities to become overwhelmed with persons who are ill,” Mr. Miller emphasised.

He is also encouraging individuals who have been fully vaccinated to continue to follow the protocols of wearing the masks, maintaining the social distancing, and to keep washing their hands and using sanitisers.

Mr. Miller said the Health Promotion and Education Department continues its sensitisation efforts across major towns in the parish, aimed at encouraging residents to strictly adhere to the (COVID-19) safety measures.

“The children need to get back to school, so all of us need to coalesce around the protocols and try to get the numbers under control, so we don’t have a situation where our hospitals become overwhelmed and people are dying when this could have been prevented,” he added.