BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, September 14,
2020 (MMS-SKN) — Minister of Health the Hon Akilah
Byron-Nisbett, while saluting Federation’s sanitation workers for the great job
they are doing, has also called on the general public to follow the Covid-19
protocols if they are to lead a healthier and longer life.
“Sanitation
workers have become one of the most important groupings within our society
today because as we continue to face the pandemic, which is not over, we are
grateful for the service that they continue to give,” said the Hon
Byron-Nisbett.
She
made the remarks at the 18th Annual Sanitation Workers Appreciation
Day which was observed on Sunday September 13 under the theme ‘Basic Hygiene
and Good Sanitation… The Cure for the Covid-19 Virus’, and was celebrated with
a worship service led by Pastor Lincoln Hazell at the Apostolic Faith Mission
Church on St. Johnston’s Avenue in West Basseterre.
“The
simple things that will help us to make sure that we do not have to suffer from
the Covid-19, as we have seen so many other countries suffer is by doing the
non-pharmaceutical measures – the simple things, wearing your masks, keeping
your hands clean, soap and water or if you can’t use soap and water, to use
some hand sanitisers,” advised the Honourable Minister, who is also the Area
Parliamentary Representative for St. Christopher Three, West Basseterre.
In
observance of Covid-19 protocols, sanitation workers drawn from Environmental
Health, Parks and Beaches, and the Solid Waste Management were this year not
invited for the service but were encouraged to follow it live on the church’s
Facebook page, or on radio including the National ZIZ Radio.
The
Health Minister thanked sanitation workers noting that their task has become
greater as the expectation now is that all highly touched surfaces must be cleaned
on a regular basis, the doors, and countertops, and anything that people touch
frequently, adding that she was happy to see the microphones in the church
being sanitised.
“As
the Minister of Health, I know the importance of these non-pharmaceutical measures
– I know the importance of making sure that we keep everything as sanitised as
possible,” said the Hon Byron-Nisbett. “Those are the simple things that are
important but they will be able to make sure that once we are at that place
where we are able to fight that disease that many of us will not be able to get
that disease and then we could lead a healthier, longer life.”
She
thanked Pastor Lincoln Hazell and members of the Apostolic Faith Mission Church
for their continued thrust to ensure that they appreciate and celebrate the
country’s sanitation workers noting that now more than ever, many understand
the importance of the sanitation workers.
“Let
us continue to pray for our health workers, let us continue to pray for
everyone who are on the frontline because once we fully open these borders it
is those individuals who would be met first,” pointed out the Honourable
Minister. “They are the ones who have to make sure that we are kept safe.”
She
also thanked members of the National Covid-19 Task Force, saying: “I can’t talk
about them enough, because they have been doing a tremendous job in ensuring
that we keep safe, and what they have done is to ensure that the first wave was
not as effective as in a lot of the other countries. Now they are telling us:
let us do these things, wear our masks, wash our hands, practice social
distancing – we must listen to them and take their advice.”
In
the meantime, Pastor Lincoln Hazell quoting from Matthew Chapter 11 verse 15
‘He that has ears to hear, let them hear’, observed that the people of the
Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis “have been listening and because you heard
over the past months you were able to make St. Kitts and Nevis the number
country in the world that people can visit and not be afraid of contracting the
disease.”
