MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica — Medical Officer of Health for Westmoreland, Dr Marcia Graham, is crediting the health department’s collaboration with various organisations and compliance by citizens for the decrease in new COVID-19 cases in the parish.

“We cannot do it alone, we did not do it alone, and we appreciate each and every organisation which would have supported us over the past year and into the new year,” she said.

Dr Graham was addressing the monthly meeting of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation, in Savanna-la-Mar, on January 14. She noted at that as at January 14, the parish had registered some 752 cases and 27 COVID-19 deaths.

“We have seen a lowering of new cases over the past few weeks and we are thankful for the contribution each and every person has made to us getting there,” Dr Graham said.

She also reported that as at January 14, there were 38 people in isolation in the parish, 12 of whom are in hospital, 25 at home and one is a student in isolation at a boarding facility.

She said that some 192 people are in home quarantine as they were close contacts of confirmed cases.

There are also persons who are in quarantine because they recently came from overseas. Dr Graham is encouraging people to “keep the home isolation conditions and keep the home quarantine, because that is going to prevent us from having another upsurge in our numbers”.

Meanwhile, she is imploring citizens to take extra precautions and observe the COVID-19 protocols in all spaces, as some people who have the virus are asymptomatic.

She noted that as it relates to bed capacity, the Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital was at 50 per cent, “so nine of our isolation beds out of the 18 at the hospital are currently occupied”.

“We want to keep it that way, we do not want to exhaust and exceed our capacity to deal with persons with COVID-19 who have moderate to severe [symptoms]. We don’t want any critically ill because this can add to our mortality statistics,” Dr Graham added.

— JIS