Post by montegobayjobs on Aug 20, 2020 18:48:12 GMT
Soldiers manning a checkpoint in Albion, St Thomas which was on Thursday, August 20, 2020, placed under a COVID community quarantine. The measure was also imposed in Seaforth - Shanna Monteith.
Shanna Monteith, Gleaner Writer
Residents of Albion and Seaforth in St Thomas were left surprised, and some upset, after their communities were placed on lockdown amid an increase in COVID-19 infections.
The areas have recorded some 13 cases over the last three weeks.
"Many of the cases are symptomatic, which is a cause for concern and suggests that there may be ongoing transmission in the communities," said a ministry of health spokesperson in a release.
The quarantine period, which began at 5 a.m. Thursday morning, will run for 14 days, ending on September 2.
Scores of people attempting to leave Albion were stopped by members of the Jamaica Defence Force, who have set up several barriers in the area as they enforced the quarantine orders.
Alecia Lee of Yallahs, in the parish, was among residents who were standing at the entrance to Barrant Drive, which leads to an area of Albion, as she waited anxiously to receive her baby who had spent the night in Albion.
"My sister keeps my baby in the nights when I'm going to work and I pick her up in the mornings. So, this morning mi come and see this, I thought I could get mi baby.
“But now the soldier a seh mi cyah go fi her, mi affi wait here suh," she said, adding that her niece was asked to take her baby to her sister, who is pregnant.
However, the sister was unable to do so due to poor weather conditions.
Moments later, Lee's family members who were attempting to take the baby to her were also stopped by the security forces.
"Dem say I couldn't go down there, so I expected that somebody could bring her come here to me. Mi sister soon have baby too, so mi tell her to send my baby with her big daughter, since she wouldn't manage in the rain.
“And me wake them out a dem bed, make dem walk in rain come, and now this. Mi sorry mi leave mi baby here last night," Lee lamented.
The woman was advised by soldiers that she would have to wait to speak with an officer, who was on his way to the location, about whether she would be allowed to get her baby.
Meanwhile, in other areas of Albion, soldiers moved swiftly to prevent motorists who were attempting to leave via the main gateway to the community.
Among them was a man who pleaded that he was not from the community, but had visited his girlfriend the night before.
The other communities in the parish now under quarantine are Bamboo River, Church Corner and Lower Summit. They will also remain under lockdown until September 2.
In the meantime, the parish remains under a daily curfew between the hours of 7 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Shanna Monteith, Gleaner Writer
Residents of Albion and Seaforth in St Thomas were left surprised, and some upset, after their communities were placed on lockdown amid an increase in COVID-19 infections.
The areas have recorded some 13 cases over the last three weeks.
"Many of the cases are symptomatic, which is a cause for concern and suggests that there may be ongoing transmission in the communities," said a ministry of health spokesperson in a release.
The quarantine period, which began at 5 a.m. Thursday morning, will run for 14 days, ending on September 2.
Scores of people attempting to leave Albion were stopped by members of the Jamaica Defence Force, who have set up several barriers in the area as they enforced the quarantine orders.
Alecia Lee of Yallahs, in the parish, was among residents who were standing at the entrance to Barrant Drive, which leads to an area of Albion, as she waited anxiously to receive her baby who had spent the night in Albion.
"My sister keeps my baby in the nights when I'm going to work and I pick her up in the mornings. So, this morning mi come and see this, I thought I could get mi baby.
“But now the soldier a seh mi cyah go fi her, mi affi wait here suh," she said, adding that her niece was asked to take her baby to her sister, who is pregnant.
However, the sister was unable to do so due to poor weather conditions.
Moments later, Lee's family members who were attempting to take the baby to her were also stopped by the security forces.
"Dem say I couldn't go down there, so I expected that somebody could bring her come here to me. Mi sister soon have baby too, so mi tell her to send my baby with her big daughter, since she wouldn't manage in the rain.
“And me wake them out a dem bed, make dem walk in rain come, and now this. Mi sorry mi leave mi baby here last night," Lee lamented.
The woman was advised by soldiers that she would have to wait to speak with an officer, who was on his way to the location, about whether she would be allowed to get her baby.
Meanwhile, in other areas of Albion, soldiers moved swiftly to prevent motorists who were attempting to leave via the main gateway to the community.
Among them was a man who pleaded that he was not from the community, but had visited his girlfriend the night before.
The other communities in the parish now under quarantine are Bamboo River, Church Corner and Lower Summit. They will also remain under lockdown until September 2.
In the meantime, the parish remains under a daily curfew between the hours of 7 p.m. and 5 a.m.