Health Minister Addresses The COVID-19 Reality

As the country continues to grapple with the increase in positive coronavirus cases, learning to live with the COVID -19 reality, is again being echoed by the Government.

While assuring the nation, the country is not presently the subject of vaccine trial, Minister of Health and Wellness Dr. Christopher Tufton, says the administration has signed up to purchase the first safe COVID-19 vaccine available.

The Minister appeared on CVM LIVE‘s Panel Discussion, on Monday.

Since the start of October through to the 19th, Jamaica has seen an increase of 1,819 positive cases across the island this is in addition to  63 casualties.

However, as the Ministry of Health and Wellness continues to bolster it’s infection prevention and control measures, Minister Tufton points out that there are still margins of error.

“The world would love to see the back of the COVID-19 virus. We’ve seen in country’s of the world where we thought they were on the down then we see optic or double surge and that seems to be a feature of the virus and therefore it will be with us for a while, at least until modern science catches up with a vaccine,” the Minister said.

Right across the globe clinical trials are being conducted for a potential vaccine, and according to Dr. Tufton the Government remains open minded but rational.

“I could see us doing this for the next year or year and a half because even with a vaccine you’re going to need to go through sufficient trials to validate it’s effectiveness and until that time you really have to do the things that are universal tried and proven, which is the social distance, the mask, the sanitizing and the isolation or quarantining.”

Dr. Tufton acknowledges the strain on Public Health Workers. He says, ” we’re doing a series of steps now, to give our medical team, frontline team psychosocial support. Automatic rest days after working for certain period of time, counselling, relaxation, holiday weekends and so on and all of that is geared towards strengthening and rejuvenating them so that they can take on the challenge because let’s face it without them we’re in trouble.”

Dr. Tufton also highlighted how the Ministry is dealing with mental health.

“We’ve got to break the stigma, we also got to get to a community based response and treatment to mentally ill and we’ve started that. We’ve started, we’ve started to hire more logistic support, [and] more mental health aids,” he says.

Robian Williams reports: