A fence erected on a section of Reduit Beach is meant to bolster security efforts at the Rodney Bay Public Health Facility (RBPHF). An image of the fence spread on social media yesterday, with many persons expressing outrage over its construction. Appearing on the National Television Network this morning, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sharon Belmar-George disclosed that a request was made to install the fence.
She noted that RBPHF was the country’s first quarantine facility and it was used to house persons from high risk areas. “So the security team at the RBPHF, they continuously notified us of breaches in security at this location due to the open beach access,” said Belmar-George. “I think earlier on you may have heard reports of persons trying to come through the beach to visit persons who were there, and this has led to us increasing the number of people in quarantine because we have had to quarantine persons who try to sneak in when we do find out.”
She continued: “So in an effort to preserve health and safety of the general public and to reduce any possible direct contact between persons in quarantine and the general public, the request was made to strengthen the security measures at that location.”
Belmar-George indicated that a number of other measures had been put in place including increasing security personnel and the installation of cameras. These measures, she said, have not been as successful as the Ministry of Health would like. Officials hope that the fence will also prevent quarantined persons from leaving the facility. She applauded the public for working well with the ministry so far and urged citizens to remain focused in the fight against the disease.
The CMO acknowledged that some measures and protocols may not be convenient, “but as the PAHO Director indicated just a few days ago… COVID-19 is here for a while and it brings certain inconveniences at every single level. Life is not going to be the same. There are certain luxuries that we may not have but we need to keep the focus; preserving lives, keeping our population healthy. So I would really like the public to continue working with us.”
Asked why the fence was not erected around the facility instead, the CMO indicated that this was left up to the engineering and security personnel. She said that a number of options were considered and that a costing was done factoring in the entire front. “I think it would’ve caused some extra delays,” said the CMO. “I’m not experienced in security and engineering so this was left to the technical persons as to how the strengthening was done. But I think we need to focus on what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to keep our people safe. We’re trying to reduce the spread of a disease that is infectious.”
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