Haynesville residents get donation from Health Ministry

Residents in the Haynesville, St James community today received masks, sanitizers and literature on the COVID-19 pandemic through the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ Mission Critical Saving Lives in Community Engagement Project.

Member of Parliament for the area, Sandra Husbands, who joined the team of students and residents who distributed the packages, lauded the Ministry’s effort to educate as many people as possible to understand what they need to do to stay safe.

Husbands told members of the media that the constituents were being educated on the effective use of the COVID-19 protocols, personal protective equipment, in addition to encouraging them to appreciate what they must continue to do to contain the spread of the virus.

“And so, they have sent teams into various communities, our community is one and they have been working assiduously knocking on every door, talking with the residents and encouraging them. As you can imagine right now, all of us are tired of COVID,” she said.

“We are tired of wearing masks, we are tired of not being able to do the things that are normal for us, and therefore the tendency to drop your guard is strong. So, we are trying to reinforce and re-energize people to help them to stay committed to those protocols that will keep them safe,” she said.

Husbands indicated that it is important for her constituents and others across the island to take heed and do what is necessary to create a safe environment, given that the vulnerable in society, many of whom are elderly, are at a higher risk of dying if they catch COVID.

She said residents must also consider the reality that long COVID is a possibility, which could leave them battling health challenges in the future.

“I want to express my appreciation for the people who volunteered to come out even in this rain. What is remarkable about this is that even with the heavy rainfall and the drizzle that has been going on, people are saying they do not want to stop, they want to push through and cover this territory.

“They are hoping to cover every house so they should have in excess of about 300 packages or more for this community if they are going to do every house. This was a hotspot. Every now and again we had a major breakout in this community so they are trying to make sure that we strengthen people’s commitment to the protocols so that we can avoid breakouts,” Husbands said.

She added: “The people are living so close to each other and this also has a young community, on evenings you can see children running up and down. And children, bless their little hearts, while they do not have the extreme symptoms, they certainly can carry the COVID and may infect others, so you want to make sure that you lock down in here with good protocols”. (AH)