No evidence Mocha Fest behind COVID spike, says health official

LUCEA, Hanover — Medical officer of health for Hanover, Dr Kaushal Singh, has rejected suggestions of a possible correlation between the staging of Mocha Fest at Rick’s Café in Negril in May and the spike in COVID-19 cases in Hanover.

Last Wednesday, Opposition spokesman on health Dr Morais Guy questioned whether the staging of the party, in clear breach of the Government’s protocols, was responsible for the spike in cases in the western parishes of Hanover and Westmoreland.

“I can’t say that. We speak [based on] evidence and we don’t have any such evidence that would support that. Remember, most of the activities were on the Westmoreland side, not on the Hanover side and this (virus) is spread all over Hanover. So, I don’t have any evidence to make a link to that,” Dr Singh told the Jamaica Observer when asked to respond to Dr Guy’s query.

Over the past two weeks Hanover has seen a surge in cases, with 63 recorded between July seven and 21.

Dr Singh has suggested three possible scenarios that may have contributed to the

increased numbers.

Among them is the staging of illegal parties held in undisclosed remote locations, as well as people becoming complacent and letting down their guard. The third scenario, he said, was that the Hanover Health Department had increased its testing and has been doing an analysis of data gathered two weeks ago.

Over the past two weeks, the department has conducted 227 tests.

“I am asking people to get the required permissions, stick with the protocols and report any illegal activities happening so that we can correct the situation,” urged the senior health official.