THE Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) yesterday threw the blame of the COVID-19 crisis being experienced by the country at the feet of Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, and called for his sacking.

“The minister of health must be held accountable for the poor management of the pandemic, which has caused the loss of life of scores of loved ones. Many of the lives lost over the weekend could have been prevented,” the PNP said in a statement. “In light of the discord in the public domain regarding the procurement of oxygen, the Ministry of Health is the office with responsibility for ensuring that sufficient supplies are available for our hospitals. Ultimately, the minister of health has failed. We cannot continue to accept failure after failure at the detriment of our citizens.

“The minister must resign. It is in the best interest of the country that Minister Tufton be removed from this portfolio for his repeated failures and inability to effectively perform the duties of his office. The people of Jamaica deserve better, they deserve a chance at life,” a PNP release said.

According to the PNP, 18 months after the first COVID-19 cases was reported the country is still without a proper COVID-19 management plan, claiming that during the third and most deadly wave of the pandemic, the Ministry of Health and Wellness failed to meet the needs of hospitals and clinics islandwide.

Said the PNP: “Though not the first case of poor planning, the most recent oxygen shortage demonstrated that the minister of health and, by extension, the Government, is failing and has failed to exercise the duty of care owed to the people of Jamaica and our dedicated health care workers.”

The Opposition party claimed that recommendations for fever clinics, home and early COVID management protocols have fallen on deaf ears, which it said led to a number of people being unable to access health care for non-COVID-19 conditions.

“The Government must take responsibility for the result of their mishandling of the pandemic,” said the PNP.