Mixed views in health sector about new coronavirus cases

WESTERN BUREAU:

WHILE DR Marcia JohnsonCampbell, St James’ chief medical officer of health, thinks the parish is equipped to handle the most recent cases of COVID19 in the aftermath of the opening of the nation’s border, therapist Dr Beverly Scott is concerned about the nation’s psychological readiness.

Since the phased reopening of the nation’s borders on June 1, some returning nationals and visitors have tested positive for the respiratory virus, triggering fears that the virus, which is in the community-spread phase, could intensify.

COVID CASES

Since the reopening of the borders, eight persons have tested positive. Six of the eight are from western Jamaica. The full breakdown reads as follows: St James – 5, Trelawny – 1, St Ann – 1, and Clarendon – 1.

In defending her position that St James is equipped to handle the new cases that are coming into the parish, Johnson-Campbell also noted that Jamaica cannot continue locking down its borders as it did in March, following the initial rise of COVID-19 cases.

“We cannot remain locked down forever, and I think we have been moving at a measured pace with the country’s reopening,” said Johnson-Campbell. “We will continue to have positive persons coming in, but our experience to date has shown that most of the persons are asymptomatic (not showing symptoms), and the need for massive resources for clinical care of persons is not as great because we have been able to control things to a point that we can manage.

“I do not anticipate that we will not be able to manage the cases that are coming in now, once persons adhere to the rules of isolation and practise sanitising methods. We might be a little fatigued at this time because it is a big demand on our staff, but we will ensure that we pay attention to the staff’s welfare and try to give persons (health workers) breaks. We are ready to serve the best way we can,” added Johnson-Campbell.

However, Scott, an experienced western Jamaica-based therapist, is not of the view that there are enough resources at hand to provide counselling for persons who fear the spread of the virus, and she believes a new outbreak could create a fresh level of panic in the population.

“The idea of a potential outbreak could create a certain level of panic and it has serious implications, as persons are not going to want to travel if persons who are coming into Jamaica are presenting with this disorder. We were hoping that the pandemic would be subsiding by now, but it is picking up again, and it is reactivating the panic that people had at the beginning,” said Scott.

“We do not have the resources to counsel these persons who have this fear. I think there should be a concerted effort to get qualified counsellors in place to deal with these persons as they come into Jamaica, and to assure the families that they are there to support them in that way,” added Scott.

‘We cannot remain locked down forever, and I think we have been moving at a measured pace with the country’s reopening.’