ST ELIZABETH, Jamaica— The St Elizabeth Health Department has embarked on an education and sensitisation campaign aimed at encouraging residents of the parish to strictly adhere to the coronavirus (COVID-19) safety measures during the festive season.

Addressing yesterday’s monthly meeting of the St Elizabeth Municipal Corporation in Black River, Assistant Medical Officer of Health for the parish, Dr Kara Yap-Malcolm, said the campaign was launched in the second week of November in anticipation of the upcoming holidays.

She said that the focus is on the proper wearing of masks, maintaining physical distance, avoiding gatherings like grave diggings and various holiday festivities, practising proper hand washing and respiratory hygiene and obeying quarantine measures.

“We are out there conducting health promotion activities across the parish in the various towns and communities, encouraging persons to adhere to the protocols,” she said.

“This is really a team effort involving our health promotion team, community peer educators, temporary vector workers and community health aides as well,” she noted.

Dr Yap-Malcolm said that through the campaign “we want to drive home the message that with community spread occurring, we must assume that everybody is infected”.

“We also need to remember those who are more vulnerable such as those with underlying illnesses and the elderly,” she said.

Meanwhile, Dr Yap-Malcolm is reminding citizens that the 14-day quarantine for individuals entering the island remains in place.

 “We know there are persons not adhering to this, but we continue to work closely with the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) in monitoring the situation,” she said.

St Elizabeth has had 330 confirmed cases of COVID-19.