SEVERAL OWNERS and operators of food establishments in New Kingston are still waiting for the Public Health Department's comprehensive plan to reduce the rat plague in the area.
"We had asked them for a plan to show when to apply rat bait, where to apply and how to apply it so we can control the problem. I have not got that from the Ministry of Health," head of the New Kingston Civic Association, Dayton Woods, told The Gleaner yesterday.
He said, however, that persons were seeing fewer rats in the area.
Dr. Herb Elliott, Kingston and St. Andrew's medical officer of health said that instructions had been given to distribute the plans but was uncertain whether all parties had received a copy of the plan.
He said he had been away from the island recently and was part of the local medical and athletic team which recently went to the Common-wealth Games in Manchester, England. Over the past few weeks, public health officials have been paying particular attention to food safety and health during the recently concluded IAAF/Coca Cola World Junior Championships, held at the National Stadium.
The Gleaner was also told that the inspector handling the issue in Dr. Elliott's absence, a Mr. Leveridge, was out travelling and could not be reached yesterday.
According to Mr. Woods, garbage is now being removed from New Kingston at least twice per day.
Under the plan, public health officials will give business persons a schedule, telling them what chemicals/baits are to be used, where and when the baits should be placed so that all areas, including residential communities around New Kingston, are covered.
The aim is to prevent rats from relocating from one area to another, Mr. Wood said, adding that previously every property and building had its own pest control operation.
Mr. Woods said that business places in New Kingston have been complying with new measures, agreed on in May during a meeting with New Kingston businesses.
They [businesses] had been asked to ensure that left-over garbage was bound tightly and stored in a secure area inside the business places until the garbage trucks return. They had also pledged to work with the National Waste Management Authority to ensure that garbage created by the strip was collected at least twice per day.
Further action is being held up because of the lack of an adequate location for a compactor, The Gleaner was told.
In May, officials also announced that they would eventually remove itinerant vendors and street persons such as drug addicts, homeless and mentally ill persons. Both groups are said to be contributing to the problem as the street vendors, who park and hawk their products in unused private lots, leave food and other garbage which attract the rodents.
Homeless persons often rummage through garbage bins at nights, scattering and leaving the trash in such a way that rats can have access to them.
