Meet with vendors and educate them, Hanover Health Department recommends

WESTERN BUREAU:

Following on a request from Lucea Mayor Sheridan Samuels for the Hanover Health Department (HHD) to make special checks in the Cleveland Stanhope Food Market in the Hanover parish capital, the HHD has put the matter back in the hands of the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC), owners of the facility.

Samuels reported a few weeks ago that during a visit by him to the market, he witnessed unsanitary conditions at the back of the facility, a situation which he asked the HHD to check on.

Dr Kaushal Singh, medical officer of health for Hanover, said the checks were done, as requested, and a report has been forwarded to the HMC, with recommendations on how to address the problem.

“We investigated, we served some notices, we submitted a report to the chief executive officer (CEO) of the HMC and the business fellows who are there who are allegedly doing these (unsanitary) things. I was informed that they want to meet with the corporation. I am not sure if that meeting has taken place, and what is the outcome,” Singh outlined during a recent meeting.

“The corporation has a major role to play here, as most of these areas that are in question all belong to the corporation. These facilities, whether behind the market or near the seaside, all the operators there are there for their livelihood,” he said.

Singh noted that the HHD has done some amount of enforcement, by issuing notices and having them (the vendors) vacate the areas for a few days, but because they (the vendors) are about their daily survival, a long-term solution needs to be found.

He highlighted health education as part of the solution to the ongoing problem.

“In the spirit of the law, the law will be effective only when the conducive environment is there; otherwise, we will go all the time, serve them notice, take them to court. and it continues like that,” he argued.

Calling for a system of collective responsibility, Singh argued that while the HHD is willing to do its regular monitoring of the health conditions and situation in the mentioned areas, the municipal corporation also has its part to play in providing proper infrastructure for the vendors, before the vendors are asked to play their part in maintaining sanitary conditions.

“Everybody needs to be a part of the solution, and we all approach the problem in a collective manner,” he said.

Turning his attention to the dengue outbreak that is now affecting the island, Singh called for close attention to be paid to the situation across Hanover, arguing that the parish has one of the highest levels of people living with comorbidities in the country.

“We (at the HHD) are keeping our fingers crossed. We are trying our best to keep these things in check and monitoring our indices,” he stated.

He said there has been an increase in the notification of suspected cases within the parish, because of the management system that has been instituted, but the positivity level across the parish is very low.

As at November 9, there were 289 suspected cases of dengue in Hanover, with 16 confirmed cases.

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