Thu | Mar 28, 2024

Cousins keeping eye on COVID-19 as he campaigns

Published:Tuesday | August 11, 2020 | 12:13 AM
People’s National Party standard-bearer for Clarendon South Western Lothan Cousins directing a resident of the constituency to a handwashing station.
People’s National Party standard-bearer for Clarendon South Western Lothan Cousins directing a resident of the constituency to a handwashing station.

With this being his first time he will be on the ballot, the COVID-19 pandemic presents a unique challenge to prospective People’s National Party (PNP) candidate for Clarendon South Western Lothan Cousins as he looks to present himself to as many constituents as possible.

“The first thing I did, I established a series of handwashing stations across the constituency – those are visible. So I ensure that before I started to campaign, I gave the residents an avenue that they can better prepare themselves,” he told The Gleaner when asked how he found campaigning during the health crisis.

“It is difficult. It is challenging, but at the end of the day, we still have to go and meet the people,” he said.

Cousins is confident that the present situation will not hurt his campaign even as there was vast areas to cover in the rural constituency.

“We have the resources available so our campaign will be much stronger than before,” he said.

Already, the Clarendon community of Sandy Bay has been under quarantine fearing COVID-19 spread. And although not exactly located the south west constituency, it is not too far either. Other sections of the parish were also placed under quarantine months ago as part of COVID-19 containment measures.

Charmaine Johnson, who lives in Milk River in Clarendon South Western, told The Gleaner that the pandemic was likely to pose a significant challenge in the election period.

“The thing is that a lot of old people live in here and them (health authorities) say old people likely fi dead from it (COVID-19), so a lot of them not likely to come out unless it is very, very safe for them,” Johnson theorised.

Despite this, Cousins told The Gleaner that he would not easing up on his push to tighten the PNP’s grip on the constituency.

romario.scott@gleanerjm.com