WRHA Urges Continued Vigilance Against Covid-19
By: , September 12, 2024
Photo: Jermaine Stewart
Regional Medical Epidemiologist, Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), Dr. Maung Aung.The Full Story
The Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA) is imploring persons to continue to take precautions against COVID-19.
Speaking with JIS News, Regional Medical Epidemiologist, Dr. Maung Aung, noted that while the pandemic phase of COVID-19 has ended, the virus is still present in the population and it is, therefore, important for persons to remain vigilant.
“Just because we are no longer in a pandemic state doesn’t mean that COVID-19 has gone away… the virus is still with us. So, we encourage the general public to use the opportunity to take vaccines to prevent you from getting a serious illness of COVID-19,” he said.
“We continue to remind the general public, including our own healthcare workers, to take precautions and to practise non-pharmaceutical intervention or public health intervention… if you are sick, you stay home,” Dr. Aung advised, adding that wearing a face mask and frequent hand washing are still relevant.
The WRHA, which covers the parishes of Trelawny, St. James, Hanover and Westmoreland, has been seeing an uptick in confirmed cases of COVID-19 since May.
Dr. Aung told JIS News that 12 laboratory-confirmed cases were recorded in the month, representing a 200 per cent increase over the four positive reports in April.
“In June, we saw 35 confirmed cases of COVID-19, a 191 per cent increase compared to the previous month,” he noted further.
He told JIS News that a one per cent decline was recorded in July when there were 30 confirmed cases, and the numbers increased in August with 36 positive COVID-19 cases reported.
Dr. Aung told JIS News that children and senior citizens make up a significant number of COVID-19 cases in the health region from January to August 2024.
“Distribution by age group is 22 per cent, 0-9 years; 12 per cent, 10-29 years; 29 per cent, 30-59 years; and 36 per cent 60 years and over,” he pointed out.
Dr. Aung said that the Ministry of Health and Wellness will be investigating two suspected cases of COVID-related deaths in the region.