Jamaica Observer | Wednesday, September 08, 2021
KINGSTON, Jamaica – A key essential service provider, the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC), has indicated that so far only five per cent of its nearly 2,000-strong workforce has been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Manager of Corporate Communications at the JUTC, Cecil Thoms, confirmed the figure on Wednesday while speaking with Observer Online.
“So far five per cent of staff would have been vaccinated but the numbers are expected to increase as the Ministry of Health and Wellness expands accessibility to public/private entities and mobile units,” Thoms said while acknowledging that the numbers so far are quite low.
Thoms said the vaccinated employees have received at least one dose of the several vaccines approved for use in Jamaica.
He also revealed that to date 58 of the more than 900 drivers of the state-owned bus company have contracted the coronavirus.
Drivers are particularly at risk as they transport thousands of passengers daily across the Kingston Metropolitan Transport Region. While established safety protocols are in place to limit the spread of the virus, some passengers complain that fellow commuters sometimes remove their masks before the end of their journey. Also, videos have emerged on social media of overcrowded buses as commuters try to rush home ahead of the start of the nightly curfew which runs from 7:00pm to 5:00am Monday to Saturday and from 6:00pm Saturday to 5:00am Sunday on no-lockdown days.
While some private companies have already made it mandatory for their employees to be vaccinated or to take a weekly COVID-19 test at their own expense, Thoms said the JUTC was adopting a different approach.
“We have asked all heads of department to submit names from their departments of persons who have yet to be vaccinated with a view to facilitate the Ministry of Health coming to the depots,” Thoms noted.
“We have also had several drivers taking part in the health blitz in April in St Catherine this year. We all want to return to some semblance of normalcy and continue to encourage our staff to be vaccinated,” Thoms added.