COVID-19 Clusters Reported at Banana Farms

Marvin Manzanero

And the deteriorating COVID situation can get worse; the Ministry of Health is monitoring nineteen banana plantations in the south where COVID-19 clusters are growing at these banana plantations. According to Doctor Manzanero, the virus can thrive in banana farms into larger clusters if face masks are used and other safety measures are ignored

Dr. Marvin Manzanero, Director of Health Services

“There is a situation also with the banana farms down south where there are some cases that are starting to pop up. When you review the infrographic you will note that there is some cases that are linked to Bella Vista and those are usually persons coming out from the banana farms. So what the teams have done, the teams because it is an exhaustive exercise that we are undertaking is at least nineteen banana farms have been identified and random samples have been taken from these entities. I met with regional manager from down south a little while ago. They will continue to the educational exercises and going and speak to the owners managers of the banana farms to see what more of a comprehensive approach we can do to have containment in that are because we understand that the social conditions under which farmers are there are not necessarily the best. Two factors that we are noticing, no proper social condition, no real mask wearing. We understand that there is a lot of social activity that happens between the clusters of people. The words described this morning that those were adequate petri dishes for things to explode.”