Business View Caribbean | October 2020

31 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN OCTOBER 2020 NORTH EAST REGIONAL HEALTH AUTHOR I TY (NERHA) BVC: Is the private sector assisting, as well? Lamm: “Yes, we still have assistance from the private sector – corporate Jamaica – where they donate ‘care packages’ for the front line staff, which include food items, toiletries, personal care items, fresh produce - just something to say ‘thank you.’ That has been one of the highlights of how the private sector has been reaching out. “I remember our first case of COVID-19 in Jamaica was on the 10th of March. We all had to be out there working while this disease had come, and the private restaurants would bring food and bottled water to the healthcare workers, so they were refreshed. And that continues, today. Now it’s just trying to get everyone to recognize our individual responsibilities to help each other. Because that’s how we’ll get through this until a vaccine has been approved.” BVC: What infrastructure projects are underway risk of exposure by virtue of doing your job. As part of the Staff Welfare Program, we will know which of our health care workers are isolated or in quarantine at home, and determine what kind of support we can give. While they are quarantined, they continue to receive their basic salary and benefits, which is good, but other allowances such as overtime and session allowances would no longer be payable. And if that household already has a member who has lost a job because of a workplace closing down or cutting hours, then it is even more trying for the worker to balance the scales. “As part of the Welfare Program each parish across the island has dedicated testing sites with priority testing for health care workers and all other essential workers on the front line, where the results are back within 48 hours. That’s part of the strategy to ease the level of stress that our health care workers are experiencing.”