Kudos to Mayaro Covid19 Action Task Force for initiatives

Many people who are part of the Mayaro Covid19 Action Task Force (MCATF) have come in for high praise by social media users for “finding solutions and getting things done."

Mayaro MP Rushton Paray heads the MCATF which includes several organisations and people like Mayaro/Rio Claro Regional Corporation (MRCRC) chairman Raymond Cozier.

Cozier shared some of the projects the task force has undertaken since its inception last month.

Last week Wednesday, the mass vaccination walk-in drive rollout caused chaos with an influx of people without adequate seating accommodation at the Rio Claro and Mayaro health centres.

"On Thursday, we arranged tents and chairs for the patients at Rio Claro. At Mayaro, there is not enough space for the tents, but there are plans on the drawing board," Cozier said.

"We have volunteers who are willing to work with state agencies to see how they can help with the vaccination process. We do not want a repeat of Wednesday."

He suggested that the indoor sports facility, the Mayaro recreation ground and the Shell recreation ground in Rio Claro be used as vaccinations sites, considering they are more spacious than the health centres.

Cozier recalled that the "messaging via michrophone" project, launched on May 14, saw the councillors of the six electoral districts informing people in "every nook and cranny" about the virus. This was done using pre-recorded messages.

It ran for a week, and Cozier said adjustments would be made to the recordings as new information comes to hand.

The two major supermarkets in the district, Food King and S&S Persad, are stakeholders in the task force.

"The supermarkets have been closing at 6 pm. That decision is a major contributor to getting people off the streets," Cozier said.

Cozier said the task force has assisted people and groups and they have been very appreciative.

"We arrange supplies like PPE, fogging machines, masks, sanitising agents, and present them to the heads of police stations, fire service, the corporation, doctors and nurses and other frontline agencies."

Ahead of the SEA examination set for July 1, MRCRC workers would be sanitising all schools in the district.

"We are ensuring the schools are safe for them to do their examination. It is an initiative of the task force, but would be done by the corporation," Cozier said.

The task force encourages people to visit its website covid.mayaroconstituency.org and lend support by donating PPE to frontline workers and food supplies to people affected by the virus.

People can also apply for on-premise covid19 sanitisation via the website.

The website said the task force helps Mayaro constituents with vaccine appointments by passing on their information to ERHA officials responsible for issuing appointment dates.