COVID-19 stats and actions
Last Friday we attended a stakeholders’ workshop organised by the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) at which various organisations discussed their programmes to assist our seniors and the less fortunate during this pandemic. We were surprised that a Statin-MOHW survey showed that 75.7 per cent of the Jamaican people did not perceive their community as being at risk for the novel coronavirus. Clearly, many of us are in denial, but the statistics speak for themselves.
A table revealed that, while it took 151 days to arrive at the first 1,000 cases of COVID-19 in Jamaica, it has taken only six days for the last 1,000 cases to emerge. Dr Simone Spence urged us to “Treat everyone as if they are positive.”
The concentration of cases in certain areas of Kingston, St Andrew and St Catherine is a warning. The spike is real and the deaths are devastating. Thank goodness, there are several organisations which have been giving amazing service to our people. The NCSC, led by Cassandra Morrison, has been at work islandwide, counselling, assisting with health aids and care items. Saffrey Brown, head of the Council for Voluntary Social Services (CVSS), says the organisation has distributed 50,000 masks and 71,000 care packages. It is collaborating with the Jamaica Council of Churches to set up food kitchens in communities. Lois Hue, deputy head of the Jamaica Red Cross, has been increasing the Meals-on-Wheels programme for indigent elderly and handicapped individuals, even as they also continue to distribute care packages and sanitising items. The Caribbean Community of Retired Persons (CCRP) has contributed $500,000 to Food For the Poor for the preparation of care packages for the elderly indigent, and these were distributed with the assistance of the Police Community Safety Division. The organisation also received a considerable amount of foodstuff from the Digicel Foundation, which was distributed to churches and infirmaries islandwide. Vilma McDonald reported that the Lions Club of New Kingston have continued their outreach to the elderly, also delivering food packages for them.
The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica’s (PSOJ) programme for outreach, led by President Keith Duncan, has seen top companies stepping up to give millions, and a recent video aimed at the Diaspora features a GoFundMe page so that Jamaicans everywhere can contribute. Read more
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