Florida coughs up COVID-19 woes for Jamaicans

WHEN WILFORD Williams left Jamaica three years ago to join his Jamaica-born wife in South Florida, never in his wildest dreams did he foresee that he would be in a position of compromise regarding his health.

America, he believed, offered better healthcare than his homeland, which has undersupplied hospitals. And then the novel coronavirus evolved.

Wilford thought he would escape the health dragnet, but on March 16, he started sniffling and sneezing. So did his wife, Pamella. The coughs started and got worse. So the couple, while trying not to panic, sought the advice of relatives and friends and then informed their bosses that they were self-quarantining.

“I started to feel the effects of a high fever; my wife started, too. Then the coughing and sneezing came on and our sinuses started to drain,” he told The Gleaner. “We knew that we had to be careful.”

COVID-19 has been responsible for more than 18,000 deaths and 415,000 infections worldwide, triggering panic, closing borders, and causing the global economy to sputter.

The Williamses decided to seek First-World healthcare. But to their surprise, when making queries about testing, they were told to ride out the storm.

NO TEST

“We went to the doctor and told him we needed to be tested, as we were showing signs of the virus. However, the doctor said ... we should just go home and self-quarantine,”Wilford said.

Robyn Ricketts is a medical practitioner who works out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She, too, was born in Jamaica and now lives in the United States. Ricketts confirmed that there was no test available to identify SARS-CoV-2.

“What we do is test for the flu, common cold, and other respiratory illnesses that we can test for, and if those are not present, then we deem you as infected with the COVID-19,” Ricketts, who herself was sniffling, told The Gleaner.

That was Wednesday, March 18. By Friday, the Williamses were informed that there was a drivethrough-style testing facility in Pembroke Pines – an area heavily populated by Caribbean nationals. He and his wife sought to get a nose swab.

But by the time they arrived at that location, testing had finished and they had to retreat to their home.

“So now we do not know if we are infected or not. We just have to stay at home and hope for the best,” Wilford said.

The virus has caused a run on retail outlets in South Florida, leaving consumers short on supplies of bottled water, food items, hand sanitiser, cleaning chemicals, and, most important, toilet paper.

Last Thursday, Williams called The Gleaner to report that his condition was improving.

He had been advised by a Jamaican colleague to soak dried pimento berries, onion, garlic, honey and apple cider as a remedy for his condition and take a spoonful each morning as a method to ease his discomfort.

“The Jamaican remedies work well. We not coughing so much anymore, and we feeling much better,” he said.

“I advise all those out there who have not felt any effects of this thing to make sure you eat up your garlic and increase your vitamin C intake.”