With that kind of air quality index readings and the visible clouds of smoke suffocating the towns - the call by some if for a public health emergency to be declared - along with a public awareness campaign about the health risks associated with inhaling thick smoke.
The Ministry of Health and wellness did send out a release one week ago - and when we spoke to him via Zoom this evening this principal public health inspector didn't seem to be too alarmed:
Jules Vasquez
"What should people do? What can people do in a situation like this?"
John Bodden, Principal Public Health Inspector
"Okay, very good question, Jules. And I think this is what everybody is worried about and concerned about what can they do in this situation. And obviously one of the best thing is that if you can keep your house closed and if you can stay within the domain of your home, the impact should be rather less on the individual than if you're out in the open."
"However, from the data that we have gathered over the last couple of weeks, it does not seem that it has disturbed the community to that point where they are actually going to seek health intervention."
"And so we noticed that even the numbers that we're seeing in terms of respiratory condition at the hospital and we're talking about the two location, we're talking about in the general, Santa Elena, San Ignacio, Cristo Rey, San Antonio area and we are also talking about the Toledo district. The numbers have been much less than it was in the previous months. And I'm talking for the last like five weeks. And so the data is not showing that the impact is severe on people, but I think it's an uncomfortable situation that people are facing."
Jules Vasquez
"Even for people who are sleeping peacefully through the night, they are concerned that all night they're inhaling this smoke. Might there be medium term or long-term effects as a consequence of this?"
John Bodden, Principal Public Health Inspector
"That definitely can progress to having a greater impact in terms of your health condition, especially for persons who might be coughing, they might not recognize it, but once it's advancing, then you have that issue that you start coughing much more."
"And so that's taking it on the more impactful side of the disease itself. So the condition is worsening once you start coughing more often. The only thing that will abate this at the moment is the rains and we need it desperately."
Bodden urges residents to wear a mask when they are outdoors.
