The St Thomas Health Services has received a donation of tents and other items from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Caribbean Regional Office, United States Embassy, to assist in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Varough Deyde, acting chief of mission at the US Embassy in Jamaica, indicated that the group was pleased to assist. 

“We are very happy to be here on behalf of the US Embassy to share the common goal of trying to provide better health care for all Jamaicans, in particular here in St Thomas,” Deyde said during the handover ceremony at the Princess Margaret Hospital on February 26.

“The US Government is indeed committed to the collaboration with the Government of Jamaica on public health priorities and the aim is to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.

Deyde said the Minister of Health and Wellness, the health departments, the schools and the communities at large were all key partners in this effort. 

He noted that the supplies that are provided, some of which are already in use, are really provided to help with proper social distancing in crowded clinics.

Dr D’Oyen Smith, medical officer of health for St Thomas, said the donation would make a very big difference.

“One of the important things is to keep persons that are possibly infected apart while we investigate them. The patients will come to the clinic and without the spacing of an extra tent outside, these persons would be bundled into the health centre, which means if there is an infected person within that group, then a number of persons would have been exposed on that day,” he explained.

“In terms of the sundry items, the thermometers have helped us in detecting those persons who are more than likely to have symptoms of COVID and who should really be separated from the rest of the population, so they don’t expose those individuals.”  

Pauline Ellington, acting parish manager for the St Thomas Health Services, also expressed gratitude for the donation.

She said the tents were in use in three health facilities – Morant Bay Health Centre, Seaforth Health Centre and the surgical clinic at Princess Margaret Hospital.

Ellington noted that the donation of tents, masks, hand sanitisers, sanitation supplies, disinfectants and non-contact thermometers was very timely.

“We are very pleased to receive this donation and it will help us overall in our management of COVID-19 within the parish,” she said.