Rollout of Vaccination Blitz in Hanover April 10

The Government’s coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination blitz is set to roll out in Hanover at three locations in the capital, Lucea, on Saturday, April 10, starting 9:00 a.m.

Chief Public Health Inspector, Patricia Hall Patterson, told the monthly meeting of the Hanover Municipal Corporation on April 8 that the exercise forms part of government’s effort to inoculate the most vulnerable persons and front-line workers as priority.

She said the major plan being implemented by the Ministry of Health and Wellness is to vaccinate 1,000 persons in a day. The locations are the Lucea Anglican Church, the Lucea Health Centre and the Noel Holmes Public Hospital.

Persons being targeted for vaccination are those 60 years and older, staff members of the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB), the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA), Jamaica Customs Agency, tourism workers, teachers and other employees of educational institutions.

They are being urged to register by calling the National Vaccination Hotline at 888-ONE-LOVE (888-663-5683) or online through the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ website at www.moh.gov.jm.

Mrs. Hall Patterson said the Ministry, through the Hanover Health Department, will be working with the Hanover Municipal Corporation, Members of Parliament and Councillors to maximise the number of elderly persons to be inoculated.

She explained that the close proximity of the three locations is due to the size of the Lucea Anglican Church which cannot accommodate large gatherings and meet the standard for social distancing.

In her report to the Corporation, Mrs. Hall Patterson said that the COVID-19 pandemic in Hanover had worsened.

“For the reporting period (March 2021) and the first week in April 2021, the total number of confirmed cases increased by 47.4 per cent to 1,153, compared to last month. For the same period, a total of 39 deaths linked with COVID-19 were recorded for the parish, including 19 for the month of March 2021,” she said.

She said that as part of the parish’s response, public health officers were actively involved in home inspection to assess their suitability for home quarantine.