More than 600 healthcare workers infected in current COVID-19 surge

 

More than 600 healthcare workers have been infected with COVID-19 and had to stay away from the job in the current surge in Jamaica.

 

This week, hospitals were forced to start operating in emergency mode amid the staff shortages.

 

Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton says most of the health workers affected are doctors and nurses. 

 

"Of the 16,830 healthcare workers, 669 were out due to COVID, which is a four per cent or so. Now on the face of it, it doesn't seem much, but if you dissect it around the type of worker - the nurses who are on the frontline, the doctors who are on the frontline - then those averages go up. So, where it really matters or matters most in terms of the interaction and ongoing management of the process, is where we have the greatest impact," he suggested. 

 

The high infection levels among health workers led to the respective professional groups calling for meetings with the health minister.

 

At a press conference on Thursday, Dr. Tufton said he met with the Nurses' Association of Jamaica, the Jamaica Medical Doctors' Association and the Medical Association of Jamaica this week and they highlighted the pressure the pandemic has placed on their members. 

 

"It's quite clear that the pressure is on and it is having an impact. I want to just thank them for their leadership, for their patience, for the fact that they are not panicking; they're trying to manage. And that is very important in these times. So, I want to just assure the country that our healthcare workers are resilient and they are holding the frontline, doing what they need to do, even at the risks that they are encountering," Dr. Tufton asserted.