Teacher with COVID-19 concerned over conditions at Moruca isolation facility

A teacher who has been in isolation for almost three weeks at a COVID-19 facility in the Moruca sub-district in Region One, is concerned that hygiene standards at the facility may not be conducive for recovery.

The teacher, who is currently sharing a room with another teacher at a COVID-19 isolation facility, explained that on Wednesday, July 1st, she and her roommate were moved from the Amerindian guesthouse at Kumaka to another facility.

The woman, who asked not to be named, said that upon entering her room, she observed that it was unkempt and then told the nurses at the facility that she would be leaving if the conditions were not better maintained for persons who are “sick”. The woman said that at the other facility, she had complained about the unhygienic living space and once again she was complaining to the doctors, nurses and other health officials.

She mentioned that she had complained about not having personal bins on Wednesday and these were made available on Thursday after she informed the doctors that she would leave. “I prefer to be at home where it’s clean and I’m comfortable,” she said.

More recently, she has discovered that the roof was leaking but she was told nothing could be done about it.

She said the doctor told her that she and her roommate could stay at another room that recently became vacant after a patient recovered but she explained that the room was not in a good condition either. “The room is small and can’t hold two beds. The toilet is low and had some kind of plastic,” she explained. She added that the plumbing was just as bad as it is in the room where she is currently staying.

She was eventually given a bucket for the leak.

The teacher previously said she and other colleagues were tested because one of their colleagues at the Santa Rosa primary school had tested positive for COVID-19 in May. Following the closure of schools, she said, she rarely left her home and the few times she did was to go to the school.

She stated that after it was announced that schools would be reopening to facilitate the National Grade Six and the CXC exams, the primary school staff was called to a meeting at the school. That was the only instance that she came into contact with her colleagues.

Given her limited contact and places that she visited, she has said that it is possible that she got infected at the school.