Archdiocese’s Health Safety and Environment Team: “Exercise care in the face of the new Covid-19 variant”

The Archdiocese’s Health Safety and Environment Team (HSE) is recommending parishes to “exercise preventative care” in the face of the new Covid-19 variant.

Issuing an ‘Updated Guidelines for Infection Prevention’ BULLETIN #33 on Friday, January 12, the HSE said “Out of an abundance of caution, the HSE recommends that our parishes should exercise a high level of preventative care to minimise contracting any viral, respiratory illness.

Each Parish Priest, in conjunction with the parish council/leadership team, may select from any or all of the Covid-19 preventative measures. For example, ‘if you feel unwell, stay at home’.” The HSE recommended for consideration that “All worshippers should engage in good respiratory, hand and personal hygiene; All vulnerable persons should wear a well-fitting surgical or N95 face mask when indoors; Hand-sanitizer solution should be made available at the entrances to the church and other buildings; Windows and doors should be left open to ensure proper ventilation within the church and other buildings when occupied,” and “The sharing of Precious Blood is discouraged.”

The bulletin noted that The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the new Covid-19 variant JN.1 a “stand-alone variant of interest” because of the strain’s “rapidly increasingly spread and characteristics over other strains in circulation”. The HSE said that “given that we in the Southern Caribbean are vulnerable to many respiratory illnesses that originate in Europe and North America, we are susceptible to being affected by the illnesses that visitors from these temperate regions bring with them when they come to our area.”

Early last week Minister of Health, Terrance Deyalsingh said the Ministry had recorded five Covid-19 related deaths, with an increase in the number of cases being reported.