Prime Minister Andrew Holness, says the Government is closely monitoring the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation in the country and will take appropriate action if required.
“Clearly, if our monitoring shows that we need to take certain preventative actions, we will very quickly and very rapidly mobilise. We have never demobilized; we are still prepared and ready to act,” he said.
Holness, who was speaking at the official handover of the Port Royal Street Coastal Revetment Project in downtown Kingston on Wednesday (May 18), urged citizens to remain vigilant and alert, as the country is now experiencing the fifth wave of the pandemic.
“I believe the Ministry of Health [and Wellness] would have alerted the nation today that we are in the fifth wave, as we had always expected, but what we have observed is that citizens may have become complacent believing that the pandemic is at an end,” he said.
The Prime Minister stressed that the Government never declared that the pandemic was over, but that it was in the endemic phase “meaning that we are going to have to learn to live with this thing; it will come over and over and over again”.
“What is happening now is that we are seeing increased infections being detected as we go back to our full operations, including going back to school. So, we are encouraging all Jamaicans to protect yourself… we know the public health protocols now,” he said.
The Prime Minister stressed that it is now the personal responsibility of every citizen to protect themselves and urged persons to continue to follow the health protocols to reduce the risk of infection.
“Wear your mask; sanitise [your hands regularly]. If you are ill, stay at home; if you don’t have to go out, then don’t. Be careful of how you move around in crowds – just be very conscious of your environment,” he warned.
