Dr Phillips Coombs, a surgical resident at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH), says the alarming rate at which Jamaica is confirming new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) could be a signal the island is no longer in control of the outbreak.

In a viral Instagram TV video on Saturday

(August 23), Coombs, while insisting he’s not slamming the Ministry of Health

and Wellness, which has done commendably well to contain the pandemic in

Jamaica, argued that the rise in new cases is suggesting that community spread

among citizens is climbing.

“I took an oath as a medical doctor to

first, do no harm to any of my patients, and I feel it is my responsibility to

encourage every single Jamaican to be wise about their decision[s] and about

COVID-19,†he began.

It is an especially frightening prospect as

both the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People’s National Party (PNP) intensify

their campaigns ahead of the September 3 general election, Coombs argued.

“The Prime Minister has called elections on

September 3rd; over the past 24 hours, there [have] been 46 new cases of

coronavirus in Jamaica. We have officially lost control of COVID-19,†the

doctor concluded.

“There is now community spread, we’re not

able to trace where people are getting the infection from. Not just that,

having a [political] campaign at this time has disregarded all the protocols

that the government has tried to put into place to protect and to prevent

persons to getting COVID-19,†he added.

Dr Coombs, in his video that has since made

it to Facebook and Twitter, asserted that the public health system has come

under added strain following a flare-up in political unrest.

“Not only is COVID-19 a threat, but the

hospitals are getting overwhelmed with more accidents, more trauma [cases], because

of political unrest,†he posited.

When mi talk it unnu se a politics mi a play. Maybe when unnu hear one doctor talk it unnu will listen. The doctor says we have officially lost control of COVID 19.Posted by Kamla The Ripe Mango on Saturday, August 22, 2020

Coombs reiterated that he speaks from his

perspective as a doctor, that the general election may not have been ‘the

wisest decision’ as Jamaicans gather in larger numbers, often absent face masks,

and flout social distancing recommendations in favour of political flare,

rallies and motorcades.

“I’m not affiliated with any particular

party, I am just looking out for the general population of Jamaica. We’re

speaking about a virus; a virus that has the potential to kill people. We are

now campaigning, in numbers greater than 250 without masks, without social

distancing. For what?†Combs asked.

“Is that the best decision for Jamaica

right now? So, Dr Coombs here, humbly suggesting the government reconsider the

approach to general election. Think about the Jamaican people, the hospitals;

think about us as doctors. We are sacrificing our wellbeing every day to

protect our country, think about this,†he added.

The video exists in two versions, the first

of which was shared extensively, before Coombs indicated that it was unedited

and released without his knowledge or authorisation.

I must say I regret the fact that an unedited version of this video was released earlier today without my knowledge and authorization. — Dr. Phillip Coombs (@Fyliku) Let me commend

I must say I regret the fact that an unedited version of this video was released earlier today without my knowledge and authorization. — Dr. Phillip Coombs (@Fyliku) Let me commend @themohwgovjm for the hard efforts that they have made in trying to contain and manage this pandemic.August 23, 2020

In a statement accompanying the second,

shortened video, Coombs said that he was merely appealing to Jamaicans to abide

by the already established protocols to prevent further spread of COVID-19.

The statement in full reads as follows:

See also, the second version of Coombs’ video below:

View this post on Instagram I must say I regret the fact that an unedited version of this video was released earlier today without my knowledge and authorization. Firstly, let me commend @themohwgovjm for the hard efforts that they have made in trying to contain and manage this pandemic. My intentions in this video is solely to appeal to the people of Jamaica to continue abiding by the protocols set by our government to prevent the spread of Covid-19. I would also like to advocate for a peaceful and violent-free election periodŸ™ŒŸ½Ÿ™Ÿ½ #drcoombs #docraversA post shared by Dr. Phillip C. Coombs Ÿ‡¯Ÿ‡² (@drphillipcoombs) on Aug 22, 2020 at 8:13pm PDT

As at the time of publication, Jamaica confirmed another 67 cases of COVID-19, bringing the national tally to 1,416.