Ship workers eager to go home
Dozens of anxious Jamaican ship workers who arrived at the Falmouth Pier in Trelawny recently are counting down the hours to be reunited with their families.
Yesterday, they waited outside the Sandals Inn resort along Jimmy Cliff Boulevard in Montego Bay, St James, to complete their ‘end of quarantine’ COVID-19 tests.
Dr Marcia Johnson Campbell, chief medical officer for St James, told THE STAR that the medical team is carrying out the final testing on the ship workers who arrived in the island between the May 24 and 25.
Our news team learnt that several hundred ship workers are expected to get their final results over the next 72 hours.
One worker told THE STAR that he is very overjoyed to know that this is his final testing, and he is confident that after Tuesday, he will be able to unite with his family.
WORRIED OVER ME
“I am anxious to see my wife and children, but I am even more anxious to see my mother and father who are both worried over me,” he said. “I am presently staying in Montego Bay, where I have been under quarantine since I came in the island on May 24. I have not seen my family since I arrived.”
He said that he saw persons taken ill with the coronavirus, but Jamaicans used natural remedies to ward off the virus.
“Persons on-board the Oasis Cruise Liner on which I worked have died, but most of us Jamaicans managed to stand firm by drinking a lot of ginger tea,” he said. “When we were thirsty, we drank tea. When we were hungry, we drank tea. I have never drank so much ginger and lemon tea in my whole life.”
The ship workers say they are 100 per cent certain that they do not have COVID-19, and are cooperating with the medical team to complete their tests.