‘People deal with us bad’

100th recovering COVID-19 patient laments public scorn

THE 100TH COVID-19 patient to be discharged from isolation after recovery has said she would never wish the virus on her worst enemy.

Speaking Wednesday during a press briefing organised by the Ministry of Health and Wellness and which was aired on Zoom and other social-media platforms, the recovered woman shared that people have been stigmatising her and her family. She explained that she contracted the virus from her daughter, who works at the Alorica call centre in Portmore, St Catherine, which was the epicentre for a surge in Jamaica’s COVID-19 cases.

Dubbed Patient D because it is illegal to name anyone who has tested positive without their permission, the woman said that upon finding out she had the virus and after being on the receiving end of the stigma, it brought her to tears.

“I was crying and it was scary. My daughter didn’t know until they called her in for testing. They asked for her family to come to the clinic. People deal with us bad. They scorn us and they don’t talk to us. My daughter has a shop and the shop hasn’t been opened since,” she shared.

“I have no work. I do domestic work and nobody will want to hire me.”

REOPENING OF BARS

Meanwhile, Donovan, the proprietor of the Starz HQ bar in Clarendon, said while he embraces the reopening of bars on May 19, he believes a majority of other proprietors won’t be able to afford all the chemicals and equipment to properly sanitise the hands of customers or ensure social distancing. He also said that having no stools inside the bar may pose a challenge.

“It will require reorganisation. I didn’t have a sanitisation station before. I now will have that in place. There is a large percentage of small bars, and it is hard to maintain social distancing. They could probably serve through a window or something.”

“The fact of the matter is that most of the persons we have spoken to are anxious and they want to comply, but it will be difficult for them to comply fully. Most persons are happy we have this opportunity. I think we should be given more than two weeks to get this thing together.”

He said it would require putting in place systems that ensure people are wearing masks before they enter bars.

Bars were ordered closed in March as part of the coronavirus containment measures.

‘I was crying and it was scary. My daughter didn’t know until they called her in for testing. They asked for her family to come to the clinic.’