723 Hospital Beds For COVID-19 Patients

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, says that Jamaica now has 723 hospital beds for coronavirus (COVID-19) patients.

The amount, he said, is inclusive of the field hospitals.  A total of 26 High Dependency Unit (HDU) and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds were purchased.

Dr. Tufton noted that between January and March 10, 2020, hospitals began to add COVID wards and by March 23 of that year, 163 beds were reserved for patients with the virus.

The Minister, who was making his 2021/22 Sectoral Debate contribution in the House of Representatives on Wednesday (May 19), said that millions of personal protective equipment (PPE) were acquired and nearly 40 ventilators.

“COVID-19 caused us to expand our inpatient services. That is a good thing. This should make us hopeful for a better future,” he noted.

Meanwhile, Dr. Tufton said that the national surveillance system has been effective in assisting the country’s monitoring and decision-making response to the global pandemic.

“Our national epidemiological surveillance system has effectively provided us with crucial information for us to quickly respond and save lives,” he noted.

He said that the country’s surveillance capacity continually provides crucial data from hospitals, communities and laboratories.

“Using our effective and well-trained team on the ground, we tracked the numbers, analysed the trends and presented the data,” he noted.

Between March 2020 and May 11, 2021, more than 95,527 persons were followed.