‘Please be smart’ - Blind farmer tells Jamaicans to take no chance with COVID-19

Kilmarnock, St Elizabeth, resident Norman Spence sees the importance of heeding the advice of the Jamaican Government during this COVID-19 pandemic. The blind farmer, who warmed the hearts of Jamaica this year after his story of him defying the odds went viral, said Jamaicans should take the threat of the novel cornavirus seriously.

"Please be smart. Life is special, and once we have life, and once we have health, we can achieve great amounts of things. But if there's no life and if there's no health, we are all definitely out of it. So take your life seriously, take your health seriously, and do all that is necessary to protect yourself, your family and the people around you," Spence said.

Spence lost his sight completely at age 11, but that wasn't a deterrent. He runs his own farm and cultivates cocoa, yam, dasheen, sweet potatoes and corn, among others, and says he makes it his duty to avoid large clusters.

NO CROWDS

"I just do not get myself involved in crowds or gatherings ... I stay away from activity like that. If I'm going out on the street, like to a shop, I would try to go where I'm going as fast as I can, buy what I need and return to my house," he said. "I don't go on the road often. Most of the times, I leave my house and go straight on my farm and do my job."

And he does all that it takes to stay clean and germ-free.

"I utilise sanitisers to clean my hands and surroundings as clean as I possibly can. I wash my hands regularly with bleach and soap. I give thanks there are no reported cases in this community," he said