By Fernando Davis

Hanover’s Medical Officer of Health (MOH), Dr. Kaushal Singh, says that while Hanover’s COVID-19 cases remains the lowest in the country, there is still cause for concern in light of a recent surge in infections.

Dr. Singh, during a recent special sitting at the Hanover Municipal Corporation to facilitate a visit from Health Minister Christopher Tufton, said, that not only is the parish not doing as well as it did in previous months, but there are indications that some persons are still not adhering to the health and safety guidelines.

Dr. Singh also noted that the blatant and in-your-face non-compliance of some residents has not been helping the situation, warning that this spells“dire consequences” if not expeditiously addressed.

“While presenting this report, I have mixed feelings right now. We started on a positive note…but today, we are basically at the brink of a greater impact of this pandemic throughout the parish,” he noted.

Up to Saturday (December 26), the parish has recorded one death related to COVID-19 and 285 cases.

Hanover’s neighbouring parishes of St. James and Westmoreland have 1,281 and 604 COVID-19 cases respectively, a situation that is also causing fear of having “spillovers.”

“Our two neighbouring parishes are spiking. They have a lot of cases. The last three weeks have been very worrisome for Westmoreland,” Dr. Singh added.

“We could easily see spillovers as a lot of persons from Hanover also travel back and forth to both parishes for work related matters.”

He further noted that the eastern section of Lucea has the majority of the cases, while Green Island and Orange Bay have been identified as “new areas”.

He said in light of the surge in cases, the health department has organised several surveillance activities across the parish.

Dr. Singh is also urging individuals who want to be tested to contact the Hanover Health Department at 876-956-9873 or visit any of the Lucea, Green Island, Sandy Bay, Hopewell and Ramble health centres.

“Yes we currently have the least number of cases in all 14 parishes across the island but that is no reason to become complacent and let down our guard,” he added.

“The virus will be around for a long time, so I am encouraging the public to take precautions, observe social distancing and wear a mask at all times,” Dr. Singh further noted.

In the nine months since Jamaica recorded its first confirmed case of COVID-19 on March 10, the country now has 12,752 cases of the disease.

This is according to a daily cumulative report for December 29, that is generated by the Health Emergency Operations Centre (HEOC) in the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW).

Over the period, there were 298 COVID-related deaths, where, according to the report, most of the deceased had pre-existing comorbidities, which included obesity, asthma, renal disease, cardiac disease, chronic hypertension, diabetes mellitus, malignancy and cerebral palsy.