We have done our best to manage COVID-19 – Greene
Published:Thursday | June 25, 2020 | 12:28 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
While new concerns looming about the nation’s capacity to contain a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 with the gradual reopening of the island’s borders, Errol Greene, the regional director of the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), believes his administration is in a state of readiness to give of its best.
In an interview with The Gleaner on Tuesday, Greene said that although the opening of Jamaica’s ports to visitors and returning nationals is outside his administration’s control, the WRHA is doing all it can to put itself in a position to respond to whatever situation may arise.
“The opening up of the country is not a decision for us to make or to even comment on,” said Greene. “The Government has put things in place for that, and we [WRHA] just have to put things in place to ensure that the public health of the western region’s citizens is not compromised in any way, and to minimise the spread of the pandemic.”
“No country, not even the mighty United States, has all the resources to deal with this pandemic, but we have done our best,” noted Greene.
The WRHA boss stated that among the measures being utilised to curtail the spread of the coronavirus is the geofencing technology, which is being used to monitor persons entering Jamaica’s borders to ensure that they adhere to quarantine guidelines.
“Every person who comes through our borders is geofenced, and for persons who should be quarantined, we encourage them to observe and follow the instructions relating to quarantine. We also have a team of persons who give literature to everyone coming in through the region’s ports, whether through Montego Bay or Falmouth, to tell them how to protect themselves,” explained Greene.
On March 21, the Government ordered that all of Jamaica’s air and seaports should be closed to incoming passenger traffic as part of efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The nation’s ports were subsequently reopened for the repatriation of Jamaican nationals on June 1. The borders were opened for international travellers on June 15.
STAY VIGILANT
While noting the possibility of travellers entering the island with the virus, Greene said the health authorities must continue to be thorough in the fight against COVID-19.
“We are going to get persons coming into the country who are COVID-19-positive, but we have to do our best to manage the situation. We have a very thorough system of checking persons, and we will follow up where necessary to do contact tracing,” said Greene.
There have been 670 recorded cases of the coronavirus in Jamaica to date. The five most recent patients, who were confirmed as positive on Tuesday, arrived on flights from the United States and are said to be from St Catherine, Kingston, and St Andrew.
Of the 670 cases, 142 are currently classified as active cases. Kingston and St Andrew have 41 active cases, the highest number of cases on the island, followed by St Catherine with 36 and St James with 22.