MONTEGO BAY, St James — The St James Health Department resumed its food handlers’ clinics last week after a three-month suspension.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness ordered the suspension of food handlers’ training at clinics as well as training for barbers and hairdressers in March, to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus and allow public health nurses and inspectors to assist in the contact tracing process for those exposed to the virus.

The clinics will be held four days weekly, over the next three months, in an effort to clear the backlog of cases.

Acting chief public health inspector for St James, Sherika Lewis, made the disclosure at the recent, regular monthly meeting of the St James Municipal Corporation.

“We have restarted our food handlers’ training starting June 10, 2020. We are trying to clear a backlog of over 1,000 food handlers who would have had their appointments from March 2020. To do so, we have increased our clinics to Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays of each week, so going forward, for the next three months we will have four clinics. On these days, we will have three sessions, one at 8:45 am, the other at 11:00 am, and the last session at 2:15 pm,” Lewis told the meeting.

All protocols, as stated by the Ministry of Health and Wellness, will be observed,” she stressed.

Under the Public Health Act, individuals, including an operator assisting in food-handling establishments, should have a food handler’s permit.

Barbers and hairdressers also require a permit from the public health department to operate.

According to Lewis, training for barbers and hairdressers will commence on Thursday, June 25.

“We will also recommence our barbers and hairdressers training sessions on the fourth Thursday of each month,” stated Lewis.

The clinics and training sessions will be held at various locations across the parish, including Maroon Town Health Centre, Cambridge Heath Centre, and Holy Trinity Church in Montego Bay.