Residents In Westmoreland Encouraged To Remain Vigilant In Fight Against COVID-19

Health Promotion and Education Officer at the Westmoreland Health Department, Gerald Miller, has renewed the call for residents to remain vigilant in the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19), even as the Government has relaxed the curfew hours in the parish.

On December 15, 2020, Government had announced tighter containment measures for the parish, following a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases.

The enhanced measures expired on Friday, January 15, 2021.

“We are encouraged with the numbers trending down, but it’s early days yet, so we can’t be complacent,” Mr. Miller said in an interview with JIS News.

He noted that COVID-19 remains a clear and present danger to the parish and, by extension, the country and that residents must continue to take personal responsibility in order to cauterise the spread of the virus.

“We have to understand that we have a responsibility to have on our mask and to sanitise. These are things that we have to accept now that it’s going to be the norm,” the Health Promotion and Education Officer said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Miller informed that the Health Department continues its public education drive in communities across the parish, to remind residents to play their part in helping to stem the community spread of the virus.

“We have been taking the message into the communities. The Health Department conducted free COVID screening in the Revival and Dundee communities recently, as well as a sensitisation blitz to remind persons of the rules. We constantly go to the markets on a Friday using the megaphones and in the supermarkets,” Mr. Miller said.

He also noted that continuous efforts are being made to encourage persons to wear their masks properly, as the improper wearing of masks persists in the parish.

Mr. Miller lamented that far too many residents are “depending” on the Ministry of Health and Wellness for the supply of masks and advised citizens that they should be “more responsible and accept they have to wear masks to protect themselves”.

“So, if you can’t buy a surgical mask, make the sacrifice and buy a cloth mask because that can be washed and reused,” he said.