NEWS & NOTES: Dengue cases on the rise + ‘Plan Secure Jamaica’ now in full effect + Sir Godfrey Palmer is Jamaica’s man in Scotland
RING THE ALARM: According to the health ministry, a total of 830 reported cases of dengue fever have been classified as either suspected, presumed or confirmed, as of January 3. Consequently, $250 million has been allocated to support enhanced measures to contain the spread of the dengue fever virus. “This has been a more active season than last year,” says Minister Dr. Chris Tufton, “and we have been observing and monitoring the numbers and increases with each month. But by the clinical standards, we can only claim an epidemic once the threshold is surpassed.” The health ministry has confirmed that the virus surpassed the epidemic threshold of 96 cases for December, as 123 cases were reported for that month alone.
TO SERVE & PROTECT: Tabled in Parliament in 2016 and officially outlined in 2017, ‘Plan Secure Jamaica’ is a government initiative focussing on 10 strategic areas. PM Andrew Holness says the plan is now in full effect. “It will ensure that there are operations undertaken within the context of regular policing, and it will ensure that the public will continue to have a sense of safety and security, particularly in those areas that have been badly affected by violence,” the prime minister says.
DISTINGUISHED FELLOW: Sir Godfrey ‘Geoff’ Palmer has been appointed Jamaica’s first honorary consul to Scotland. A son of St. Elizabeth who migrated to Britain in the mid-50s as part of the Windrush generation, Sir Palmer is a man of distinction. In 1989, he became the first black professor in Scotland, and in 2014 he was knighted for services to human rights, science and charity. He holds a degree in botany from the University of Leicester and a PhD from Edinburgh University. Proud of his Caribbean heritage, he’s a founding member of the Jamaica Society of Scotland.
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