By Sue-Ann Wayow
MEMBER of Parliament for Mayaro Rushton Paray is claiming that his constituency has adopted measures to fight Covid-19 which he believes will be beneficial to the entire country.
He is asking that Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley take note and adopt similar measures.
In a recent statement on Facebook, Paray said with “infections blazing like wildfire and bodies sadly dropping at an increasing rate,” now was the time to take a different approach in fighting the devastating virus.
He said, “There has been an excellent blueprint of how Covid-19 can be effectively managed at local level and it can be found in my constituency of Mayaro.”
Under the leadership of Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Paray said a pilot project was undertaken called the Mayaro Covid-19 Action Task Force that has been undergoing for the past five months.
It was founded on the principle that the Covid-19 war could be won with the main influence from local government and resources from various groups including public health, police service, fire services, insect vector control, social services and family support.
He said the decentralisation of command led to greater motivation to work in harmony at the ground level.
Paray said, “While the Member of Parliament has no authority to instruct any of these agencies, we have the power of persuasion and capacity to coordinate unified action. My assignment was to link the private sector with the political and administrative arms of local government and to make strategic interventions when necessary.”
He said before the third wave announced by Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh, the Task Force played a key role in reducing the infection rate in the constituency.
The Task Force also assisted in managing the negative social and economic effects on families in quarantine and also provided safety gears and sanitisation apparatus to frontline workers valuing approximately $500,000, Paray said.
The ideas that worked well for Mayaro were constant communication, the MP’s office partnering with regional health authorities (RHAs) to get vaccinations into communities and homes, dealing with vaccine hesitancy by counselling single parents or grandparents who fear sickness or death if they take the jabs, and collaborating with the RHAs and the Ministry of Social Development.
With that collaboration, families or people in quarantine were provided with adequate food supply for the period, a testing kit that included a pulse oximeter, a blood pressure test kit, basic medication for fever and also rapid antigen testing kits. There was also daily communication with the head of the household.
At the end of the quarantine period, homes were sanitised by the RHA and Insect Vector Control. The Municipal Corporation also provide regular sanitisation to schools and other public places to curb the risk of residual transmission, Paray said.
And a consistent and coordinated media campaign urging vaccination was rolled out while also maintaining respect for those who chose not to be vaccinated, the MP added.
He said, “The Mayaro Covid-19 Action Task Force has cut out a clear path and the rest of the nation can now follow and build upon.”
Paray said, “I urge the Prime Minister to abandon his political ego and temper tantrums and create an inclusive national strategy with all hands on deck and boots on the ground. Mayaro has sounded the bells that an effective alternative to managing this crisis exists.
“For the sake of our nation, it’s time for the Prime Minister to start listening.”
