FALMOUTH, Trelawny – Work, estimated to cost over $4 million, is on in earnest to renovate a section of the old, abandoned Falmouth Police Station building along Rodney Street here to house an isolation station for any resident at the nearby Falmouth Infirmary who might be required to be quarantined. 

“We are putting in place an isolation station at the old police station and we are renovating a section there and that will cost us over $4 million,” Falmouth Mayor C Junior Gager told the Jamaica Observer West on Tuesday.

He expressed gratitude to Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie for making the funding available to undertake the renovation exercise.

He added that the municipality has been mandated by the local government minister to thoroughly wash the infirmary and install a hand-washing facility and a sanitisation station. 

On Monday, the infirmary was buzzing with activity as employees of the Trelawny Municipal Corporation (TMC) were assisted by the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) and the Fire Department to clean up the facility.

“We have also been commissioned by Minister McKenzie and with the help of the NSWMA, JDF, the Fire Department, since early this morning [Monday] we have been hosing down, washing down and properly sterilising the whole infirmary. The walls, the buildings, floor… we have to make sure that we protect them against COVID-19 as best as possible,” Gager explained.

“Our Minister met with us and gave us special instructions to make sure that the residents of the infirmary are well protected and so we have put in hand-washing facility and a sanitisation station where workers coming into the infirmary are properly sanitised before going in to deal with the residents inside.”

 The Falmouth mayor pointed out that the municipality has also sanitised areas where homeless people frequent.

“One of the other things we have done is that we hosed down, sanitised, the whole town and sanitised places where they [homeless] might sleep. For example, if they are under a piazza we will make sure that there is washed and sanitised, so those living on the streets will be taken care of,” Gager explained.

He also disclosed that the Poor Relief Department is spearheading a special care programme for the homeless in the parish and the “outdoor poor”.

“Remember we have on the roll some persons that we call outdoor poor. We also have children who we send to school so they too will get special attention to ensure that they are okay at their homes, and they are practising good hygiene,” the TMC chairman said.