Thu | Mar 28, 2024

Residents avoid St Ann’s Bay Hospital like the plague

Published:Saturday | March 14, 2020 | 12:00 AMCarl Gilchrist/Gleaner Writer

As news spread across St Ann on Friday that three of the six persons confirmed as contracting the novel coronavirus were being treated at St Ann’s Bay Regional, residents of the parish shied away from the institution.

A visit by The Gleaner Friday afternoon revealed that just a handful of persons had visited the hospital for attention all day, with the emergency room area virtually empty.

The Ministry of Health & Wellness announced on Friday that the six new cases include two men, aged 63 and 67, who came into the island from Malaysia by way of Dubai and London on March 7.

It was later confirmed that three of the patients were being treated at the St Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital, including the two from Malaysia.

For vendors near the entrance of the hospital, and taxi operators who usually transport persons from the hospital to St Ann’s Bay, it was business as usual, with no signs of masks being worn.

“We feel cut up ‘bout it. We know it serious, man,” one taxi operator said.

Another driver expressed disappointment in the authorities’ handling of the emerging COVID-19 cases.

“It neva haffi reach dis yah stage. Dem neva check the ship dem and the plane dem, an’ wen dem see seh it deh yah now, dem start check up. If dem a check it from early, it wouldn’t get leak out. ... Lock dung the country cyaa help, cause it done deh yah,” he said.

Both respondents declined revealing their identity.

Meanwhile, shoppers continued stocking up on supplies. Pharmacies in Ocho Rios were completely out of vitamin C tablets, and supermarket shelves were empty of Lysol, hydrogen peroxide, and other cleaning agents.