Free Covid testing for Old Harbour area this weekend

Based on a flyer being distributed, a team from the St Catherine Health Department will be at the front of the Marlie Mount community on February 14, 2021 between the hours of 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. Another team will be at the Davis Primary School in northern Old Harbour during the same period. 

The South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) is advising members of the public that the process on the day will be carried out on a first come, first serve basis, in addition to maintaining strict adherence to all Covid-19 protocols in accordance with the Disaster Risk Management Act.

The activity is part of a nationwide programme by the government to increase testing of the highly contagious virus which has now infected more than 18,200 persons and linked to the death of 363 people in the country.

Old Harbour, the fastest growing town on the island, is one of the prime Covid19 hotspots, with recent data showing the parish of St Catherine ranked second overall behind Kingston and St Andrew in terms of active cases.

In recent weeks, the government has increased its testing capacity which has coincided with a sharp rise in positive cases, with 290 confirmed cases reported from testing conducted in the last 24 hours.

As a result of the recent spike in cases, Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced this week new restriction measures with nightly curfews extended by two hours (8:00 pm – 5:00 am) and gatherings reduced to groups of 10 people maximum.

The increase in cases Holness said is due to persons failing to take responsibility and adherence to the protocols established to contain the spread of the virus.

Meanwhile, plans to get the first batch of AstraZeneca vaccines into the country have been accelerated with the first shipment of approximately 200,000 doses being anticipated to arrive later in this month.