Assistant Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, says the World Health Organization (WHO) is sourcing information from regulatory authorities in Russia regarding that country’s development of a coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine, which was announced on Tuesday (August 11). He said that it is only after analysing all of the data, guaranteeing its safety, that the vaccine...

The Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) is advising its stakeholders that all its offices are now open to the public, following the closure of its Newport East and King Street offices in Kingston, on Monday, August 10, 2020, due to a confirmed case of COVID-19 with one of its employees. A comprehensive sanitisation exercise of the facilities has since been done....

Chairman of the Westmoreland-based MistyBlue Cancer Care Foundation, Dorothy Satchwell, has called for the establishment of more cancer-related charities in Jamaica, in order to increase awareness and assist people affected by the disease. She said that charitable organisations play an important role in the fight against cancer and supporting patients and their families as they face the challenges and fears...

Eight new confirmed cases of COVID-19 were identified as at Monday (August 10). These bring the island’s tally of cases to 1,031. Jamaica now has 213 (20.7%) active cases, including six moderately ill patients. Recoveries remained at 745 (72.3% recovery rate) and 59 cases (5.7%) have returned to their countries of origin. There are no critically ill patients at this...

Regional Medical Epidemiologist, Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), Dr. Maung Aung, says Jamaicans have a personal responsibility to manage health risks that can lead to cancers. He pointed out that cancers are among the top-five leading cause of death among men and women in Jamaica. “So [for example], we know that we have one in every two persons being obese...

The Ministry of Health and Wellness has allocated $1.164 billion to provide meals at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) and the Victoria Jubilee Hospital (VJH). The three-year contract was signed between the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) and the service provider, Patsy Lyn Caterers Limited, on Monday (August 10) at the National Chest Hospital in Kingston. Under the contract,...

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Daryl Vaz, says the Government is committed to transforming informal settlements into structured, livable neighbourhoods. “In 2020, there should be no one living in improper infrastructure and, therefore, this Government is committed to [correcting] that,” he said. “What is very clear is that there are informal settlements...