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Coronavirus caution to food handlers

Published:Monday | March 16, 2020 | 12:26 AMEdmond Campbell/Senior Staff Reporter

Operators and employees of food establishments across the country are being urged to take the necessary steps to remain free of COVID-19.

Attorney General Marlene Malahoo Forte told journalists last Friday that under the Public Health Food Handling Regulations, operators and employees of food-handling establishments were under duty to be free of the highly contagious disease.

“If you are working in the food establishment, you must take every step to prevent yourself from coming into contact with persons who are suspected of having the disease,” the attorney general emphasised.

She also made it clear that operators of and employees in food-handling establishments could face mandatory medical examinations. “If you are so required, I have to tell you – you have to comply,” she added.

The attorney general appealed to Jamaicans to cooperate with the authorities as the Government “must act and must take every step necessary to protect you”.

Duty to report suspicions

In relation to operators in the tourism industry, Malahoo Forte divulged that under the Public Health Tourism Establishment Regulations, players in the sector were bound by law to report to the medical officer in a case where there was suspicion or confirmation of COVID-19 or any other communicable disease. She said that owners of these tourist establishments had a duty to report cases of the virus.

Turning to hairdressers, beauty therapists, and cosmetologists, the Government’s chief legal adviser said that the law also imposes a duty on these service providers to ensure that they are not contaminated by the virus and, by extension, that they do not contaminate anyone with COVID-19.

Malahoo Forte pointed out that the local board could revoke the licences of operators working in these service sectors who were found to be suffering from the disease but remained on the job.

Similar regulations govern the operation of barbers, whereby a duty is imposed on them to ensure that they are free of the virus that is multiplying rapidly in countries across the globe.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who marshalled a team of cabinet ministers and technocrats from critical public-sector agencies on Friday to provide updates on efforts to contain COVID-19, said that the various laws being used to help contain the virus would be strictly enforced during this period.

“Government has a high duty to enforce the law, and we will enforce the law,” the prime minister declared.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com