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Get the Facts – Living With COVID-19 Plan

July 20, 2020
Get the Facts – Living With COVID-19 Plan

The Full Story

The Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) is finalising its Living with COVID-19 Plan to help Jamaicans adjust to ‘the new normal’.

The Plan is based on three strategic goals. These are:

• Protecting Jamaicans from harmful health outcomes.
• Encouraging productive engagement of individuals within the society.
• Creating an environment where citizens can participate in meaningful social activities that enrich their lives and the lives of others.

Strategic Goal #1 – Protecting Jamaicans from harmful health outcomes

In an effort to ensure the health of Jamaicans amidst the coronavirus, the MOHW is working toward the following objectives:

• The distribution of 41 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds, 32 ventilators and 140 vital signs monitors to increase the health sector’s capacity to respond to extreme health care needs in coronavirus cases.

• Increasing the number of critical care clinicians through partnership with the Cuban government, with the recruitment of over 200 healthcare professionals.

• Continuous restocking of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the healthcare and other sectors.

• Strengthening the healthcare sector’s ability to manage and support COVID-19 patients, with the addition of specially equipped COVID-19 wards.

• The upgrading of infection prevention and control protocol.

Strategic Goal #2 – Encouraging productive engagement of individuals within the society

• The MOHW has undertaken the strengthening of the Health Corp Volunteer Programme, through which participants currently provide information about the coronavirus to the public via a hotline for general COVID-19 queries. As of June 1, 2020, additional volunteers have been engaged to respond specifically to mental health queries. These volunteers are trained counsellors who provide mental health support to persons in quarantine.

• The Ministry will also employ 1,300 additional Community Health Aides to conduct public health interventions, such as contact tracing and public education. These activities are expected to assist the MOHW with early detection and prevention efforts.

Strategic Goal #3 – Creating an environment where citizens can participate in meaningful social activities that enrich their lives and the lives of others

• The Plan’s third goal will address the stigma attached to contracting the coronavirus and caring for those afflicted. The Ministry releases public appeals that call for an end to such discrimination and highlight the need for impartial treatment of all persons.

 

For further information, contact:
Ministry of Health and Wellness
10-16 Grenada Crescent
Kingston 5
Tel: 876-633-7433/8172, 888-669-5433 (mental health helpline), 888-663-5683 (COVID-19 hotline) Email: pr@moh.gov.jm
Website: https://www.moh.gov.jm

Last Updated: July 20, 2020

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