St. James Health Dept. Steps Up Activities To Fight COVID-19
By: , February 12, 2021
Photo: Nickieta STerling
Acting Medical Officer of Health for St. James, Dr. Tanique Bailey-Small, speaks at the monthly meeting of the St. James Municipal Corporation, on Thursday, February 11.The Full Story
The St. James Health Department says it has ramped up its activities in the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19), in order to address the recent spike in the parish.
Speaking at the monthly meeting of the St. James Municipal Corporation on Thursday (February 11), Acting Medical Officer of Health for St. James, Dr. Tanique Bailey-Small, said the number of positive cases has increased significantly with more than 200 active cases now in the parish.
Dr. Bailey-Small pointed out that health teams are conducting more tests and have ramped up sensitisation activities in the communities.
“We have been ramping up our testing, and that is good… but it also indicates that if you are doing more testing and you are getting more positive cases in comparison to where you were before, then certainly the numbers are increasing,” she said.
“This means we have to look at a holistic approach as we go forward. So for health we have been focusing on increasing our testing yes, but also trying to reach out to our population in terms of behaviour change, because until we change and do the simple things that are required, then we do have a challenge there,” Dr. Bailey-Small added.
She noted that productivity in the parish is now being impacted by the virus, with a number of cluster cases being uncovered in the workplace.
“We are seeing an increase as it relates to workplace clusters; increase in terms of cases in communities; and increase in contacts of positive cases, and we really have to look at how we are doing,” Dr. Bailey-Small said.
She informed that the Health Department will continue its sensitisation blitz in the Catherine Hall community on Saturday, February 13.
Meanwhile, the Acting Medical Officer of Health called on stakeholders to continue to play their part in stemming the community spread of the virus.
Dr. Bailey-Small is imploring citizens to adhere to coronavirus prevention protocols in order to curtail the spread of the disease, which include the proper wearing of the mask, washing hands frequently and maintaining social distance.