Householders in Portland, St Mary urged to put out garbage for national clean-up

Gareth Davis Sr, Gleaner Writer

As Jamaica enters the second day of a major three-day clean-up aimed at destroying mosquito breeding sites, the Ministry of Health and Wellness in Portland and St Mary is urging residents to put out their garbage for collection.

The three-day exercise is part of a joint initiative among the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Local Government, and the Ministry of Sports, Culture, Entertainment and Gender Affairs.

Senior Public Health Inspector for Portland Lorenzo Hume said, in Portland, the focus will primarily be on Manchioneal and its surrounding areas, which have seen an increase in dengue cases.

Dengue is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

“We will be targeting schools, churches and place of residence, where we will remove garbage and other discarded material," said Hume.

Communities in the vicinity of Sandshore, Bungoby Lane, Manchioneal Fishing Village, Forte, Barracks and the Murition Child Care facility will benefit from the clean-up exercise.

Meanwhile, Medial Officer of Health for St Mary Tamara Henry, said Annotto Bay was selected as the area of focus for the parish.

It is a very dense town and is heavily commercialised.

“There are a number of narrow lanes in the Annotto Bay area where trucks cannot access and therefore you find that some persons are not taking the waste to the major thoroughfare for them to be picked up and collected," she said.

As a result persons often indiscriminately dispose of their waste.

"Some of waste containers end up in drains, and then the area becomes a breeding site for mosquitoes," Henry said.

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