PHILIPSBURG--The Health Ministry’s Collective Prevention Services (CPS) along with Emergency Support Function 6 (ESF 6) and the team of trained medical professionals and community persons managed to speak to more than 85 persons during their community outreach initiative on Tuesday.
The team had originally aimed to reach 100 persons during the exercise, which was set to start in Sucker Garden as authorities stepped up efforts to determine the true number of coronavirus COVID-19 cases in the country. Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs said the team had determined that some of the person had symptoms and some testing had taken place.
Not many persons came forward to be tested. Jacobs urges the public to call 914 and register with CPS if they have symptoms. She stressed that the reason for the lockdown is to assess the real number of confirmed cases and to stop the spread so that the country can return to normalcy faster.
“The first two weeks in some kind of confinement will be for nothing if we are not able to confirm the virus with known persons,” she said, adding that in next few days CPS will continue its community outreach programme and go into districts and conduct an assessment from house to house to determine whether persons have signs and symptoms.
The initiative is not infringing on residents’ rights to privacy, it is to ensure that if someone is displaying symptoms they are properly isolated and not a risk to others.
She said also that while more persons are making use of masks, the improper use of masks is also a risk. More test kits are in the country and more have been ordered so there are sufficient to test persons. Government does not foresee running out of test kits in the foreseeable future.
