Take responsibility for your health, says Hanover custos

WESTERN BUREAU:

Hanover Custos Dr David Stair is urging residents of Hanover and the wider Jamaica to take responsibility for their health by following the health protocols issued by the Government to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think we just have to try and mitigate the issues as best as we can and hope for the best, and I am imploring every one of us to take responsibility for our own health and those of our families and immediate people around us. We need to show greater levels of responsibility in terms of following the protocols which have shown to mitigate, not eliminate, but at least mitigate the spread of the infection,” said Stair, who is a medical doctor with many years of experience under his belt.

Concerned

Stair said he was concerned about the number of persons not following the outlined health protocols, especially against the background that front-line health personnel islandwide have been working extensively trying to educate persons about how to operate to minimise the spread of the virus.

“I think there is some level of complacency, because I am not seeing a lot of people wearing their mask in public places, and I have seen people gathering around certain institutions in numbers, and the social distancing is not there,” said Stair. “I am seeing people gathering at the entrance to some institutions and the social-distancing requirement is not being regulated properly.”

“Right now, I do not think our financial institutions are doing us justice in terms of making sure (the protocols are observed); some places do, but I think, in general, they could do much more,” added Stair.

The custos went on to encourage the operators of businesses not to just look at the bottom line, but also to pay greater attention to the general health of those they serve.

“The country cannot be shut down for too long, as the economy could collapse,” said Stair, who expressed fear for a second spike of COVID-19 happening in Jamaica, noting that such a condition could overwhelm the health system, in which case everyone will be affected in some way.

“The health protocols have served us well so far and I think we need to continue (observing them), because we do not have much choice right now ... if we have massive outbreaks and nobody follows the protocols, it will eventually overwhelm our health system,” said Stair.