Mayor wants to arrest Westmoreland’s COVID crisis

WESTERN BUREAU:

With Westmoreland struggling with a double dose of health crises in dengue and the coronavirus, Savanna-la-Mar Mayor Berthel Moore has called for more police personnel to be deployed to the parish to boost enforcement of COVID-19 protocols.

Moore pointed out that unauthorised parties and large gatherings, along with a disregard for mask-wearing and social-distancing directives, were among the alarming issues leading to the parish now being declared the epicentre of the local outbreak.

“We have to clamp down more on the parties taking place in the parish,” he insisted during a health ministry briefing yesterday, as Westmoreland now has the highest number of COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 population.

With one district in the parish recording twice the national average, Moore called for more police personnel, adding that he has also sought the assistance of the Social Development Commission to help ramp up public education.

“They (residents) are not taking it seriously,” he told Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, who moderated the session.

Savanna-la-Mar, the parish capital, is feeling the brunt of the impact as hospitalisations and increased deaths.

With fears that activities during the Christmas season could further drive up infection rates, Moore warned that the continuous merrymaking will result in more deaths.

The worries are so great, Tufton admitted, that the Government could press for the detention of persons found in breach of the Disaster Risk Management Act.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie is appealing to the citizens of Westmoreland to adhere to the protocols to prevent the virus from overwhelming health facilities.

She urged people who are sick to stay home, and those visiting family or friends over the holidays to wear masks inside their homes and adhere to physical distancing, hand sanitising, hand washing, and respiratory etiquette.

Westmoreland has seen at least 22 COVID deaths since the start of the outbreak, 12 of which happened in the last two weeks.

Among the communities of concern over the last fortnight are Negril, Little London, Grange Hill, Sheffield, Frome, Big Bridge, George’s Plain, Llandillo, Whitehouse, Savanna-la-Mar business district, and Petersfield.