PORT ANTONIO, Portland — The health risks posed by an ongoing highway project, the number of rats roaming the streets and vendors’ reluctance to get food handlers’ permits were among the issues of concern raised by health officials during the regular monthly meeting of the Portland Municipal Corporation on April 14. But first there was good news.

The parish’s medical officer of health, Dr Sharon Lewis, praised the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) for improved garbage collection. The issue had been a sore point for months.

“The effort to continue the frequency of the collection of garbage is noted and appreciated so we commend the NSWMA for the response to our concerns and hope that the number of garbage trucks will be increased in the near future in order to resolve this issue in the long term,” she said.

She also expressed appreciation for work being done on the southern coastal highway, between Harbour View and Port Antonio. The only problem, she added, was the negative impact it is having on residents suffering from respiratory challenges.

“The health department is pleased that road work is taking place in eastern Portland, which we know will make travelling on that road much more efficient. However, we recognise the significant dust nuisance emanating from the road works,” said Dr Lewis.

“This is a significant risk factor for aggravation of asthma and sinusitis. We did some checks at some of our facilities re the asthma visits. At Fair Prospect, over the past three years, there has been a steady increase in the asthma visits. In 2019 we had 56 visits; in 2020 — 71. That is a 26.8 per cent increase,” she added.

She also noted that there had been 90 more visits at Fair Prospect in 2021 despite a general downward trend in asthma cases, likely a positive spin-off from mask-wearing to prevent contracting COVID-19.

“In Port Antonio we did see a decrease in 2019, we had 283 asthma visits. In 2020 [there was a] 335 increase and in 2021 when we had the mask-wearing mandate operating we had 249. So we continue to monitor the situation as we kindly ask that all be done to try and reduce the dust nuisance where the road work is been carried out,” Dr Lewis appealed.

Meanwhile, the issue of roaming rodents was raised by environmental health officer Lorenzo Hume, who told the meeting there had been increased sightings of the pests near the Errol Flynn Marina.

“There is a significant breeding of rats in the town of Port Antonio. We conducted an informal survey in the town and in one instance we were able to count more than 30 rats in the marina complex and this is one single location. This is a significant issue and we at the health department are very concerned. We are engaging the port authority and will be engaging the municipality as a part of our team intervention and we need some monetary support so we can deal with the issue,” he said.

The corporation’s CEO, Jennifer Brown-Cunningham, assured the health department that the municipality will be on board as there were funds — allocated before the advent of the novel coronavirus pandemic — available.

Hume also raised concern about the number of people operating without valid food handlers’ permits in the Hope Bay and Port Antonio areas. However, he praised the number of vendors that had been approved.

“We did a survey and a food handlers’ check day in the town of Hope Bay and found that 89 per cent of the active food handlers do not have a valid food handler’s permit. We gave them instructions to attend the next food handlers’ clinic and we continue to monitor the situation as we go forward. We did the same in Port Antonio in December and January and found a similar occurrence. We found out that a number of persons are coming out to the food handlers’ activity but not attending the food handlers’ clinic to be certified. We are taking steps to remedy this situation,” said Hume.

“On a very positive note, at the end of March we attained SLA [Service Level Agreement] target of 95 per cent. So at this point in time 95 per cent of all our food establishments are certified and I give kudos to my team members for the hard work they have put in,” he added.