KINGSTON, Jamaica - Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Collette Roberts-Risden, says the ministry's cadre of social workers have been trained in providing psychosocial support, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid across all parishes.
Roberts-Risden said the ministry's staff is also ready to respond and is in a state of heightened readiness because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
She was speaking at yesterday's meeting of the National Disaster Risk Management Council at the Office of the Prime Minister in St Andrew.
Yesterday Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who is also chair of National Disaster Risk Management Council, said all committees of the council and parish disaster committees that were already activated and engaged in the COVID-19 response need to remain on high alert for the hurricane season.
He further charged the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), which has national responsibility for disaster response, to “ensure that adequate relief resources are in place to respond to any eventuality, and that arrangements are made to procure additional supplies”.
Holness said the government is moving to strengthen the capacities of the municipal corporations with adequate supplies.
“Shelter operations are of particular importance to the government given the COVID measures of social distancing and the potential for the spread of the virus and the impact on the most vulnerable. Municipal corporations and other response actors at the local level must accelerate the reinspection of shelters.
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