McKenzie: Infirmaries may soon open to welcome 300 on waiting list
Published:Monday | November 22, 2021 | 12:08 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie has announced that with some 300 Jamaicans seeking a place in the country’s infirmaries, those facilities may soon open their doors to welcome new arrivals of homeless residents, if the current COVID-19 numbers stabilise over time.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness has indicated that proposals for the reopening of infirmaries to new residents was under review, McKenzie told congregants during Sunday’s national annual church service, held in celebration of Local Government and Community Month, at the Abundant Life Ministries headquarters in Green Park, Trelawny.
“We have been working closely with the Ministry of Health, and we are hoping that if the numbers [of COVID-19 cases] remain steady and if conditions improve, we will be able to open the doors of our infirmaries right across the country to accept persons,” the local government minister said.
McKenzie praised the Government’s work, since 2016, “in providing social facilities and upgrading conditions across our infirmaries for residential comfort”.
Concerns about the risk of COVID-19 spread in infirmaries and nursing homes have arisen because of the high ratio of elderly residents, who are among the most vulnerable to the novel coronavirus.
COVID-19 clusters have emerged at The Golden Age Home in Vineyard Town and at least one facility operated by the Missionaries of the Poor.
Last year May when an employee of the St Ann Infirmary contracted the disease, 21 of the worker’s close contacts were quarantined. Five months later, two nursing homes in Hanover and Manchester were ordered closed due to breaches of COVID-19 protocols.
At that time, Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton revealed that of the 236 nursing homes and other residential facilities which were inspected, only 48.8 per cent were compliant with COVID protocols.
McKenzie also took time during Sunday’s church service to praise the efforts of infirmary workers, who have soldiered on despite the stresses and risks of the pandemic.
“I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the workers in our infirmaries, and to say that your efforts have made our country, Jamaica, one of the best countries in the world, because our infirmaries have not suffered significant fallout because of COVID,” said McKenzie.
In his address during the service, Falmouth Mayor Collen Gager urged Jamaicans to stay steadfast despite the setbacks that the country has suffered due to COVID-19, which has resulted in 90,705 infections and 2,358 deaths as at Saturday, November 20.
“COVID-19 has dealt us a very hard blow, but as a nation we must be resolute. We can overcome, and we must overcome, but we can only do it together,” said Gager.