Dear Editor,
I read in the Sunday Observer a column written by the Minister of Health Dr Fenton Ferguson himself, obviously defending his botched leadership of the current chikungunya epidemic across Jamaica's parishes.
The minister would have been best advised to come clean to the Jamaican people, accept responsibility for botching this chikungunya crisis, and ask for the help of media, community associations, churches, and schools in mitigating its rapid spread.
Most interesting of all, the minister said: "Let me point out that international surveillance best practice dictates that we do not test every case. If we already have established spread in a community, there is no need to test all community members."
Really, Mr Minister? If this is true, and I assume it is, this is news to us. Up to last week you and your technocrats were engaged in a futile exercise claiming that there is no chikungunya outbreak and that mischief-makers are exacerbating its true impact. They went to quote, up to days ago, 24 confirmed cases, while half of Jamaica knows at least one person affected by chikungunya as diagnosed by their doctors, most of whom haven't and still aren't testing. This is big about-turn.
The minister's ego is hurt, he has to, as people say, "save face". The chikungunya spread is still unabated, and the ministry looks more concerned about what people already know than truly working to limit this crisis.
Caroline McKenzie
St Jago Heights
St Catherine
ctmmckenzie@hotmail.com
Minister Ferguson's about-turn
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I read in the Sunday Observer a column written by the Minister of Health Dr Fenton Ferguson himself, obviously defending his botched leadership of the current chikungunya epidemic across Jamaica's parishes.
The minister would have been best advised to come clean to the Jamaican people, accept responsibility for botching this chikungunya crisis, and ask for the help of media, community associations, churches, and schools in mitigating its rapid spread.
Most interesting of all, the minister said: "Let me point out that international surveillance best practice dictates that we do not test every case. If we already have established spread in a community, there is no need to test all community members."
Really, Mr Minister? If this is true, and I assume it is, this is news to us. Up to last week you and your technocrats were engaged in a futile exercise claiming that there is no chikungunya outbreak and that mischief-makers are exacerbating its true impact. They went to quote, up to days ago, 24 confirmed cases, while half of Jamaica knows at least one person affected by chikungunya as diagnosed by their doctors, most of whom haven't and still aren't testing. This is big about-turn.
The minister's ego is hurt, he has to, as people say, "save face". The chikungunya spread is still unabated, and the ministry looks more concerned about what people already know than truly working to limit this crisis.
Caroline McKenzie
St Jago Heights
St Catherine
ctmmckenzie@hotmail.com
Minister Ferguson's about-turn
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