Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has announced the closure of all business process outsourcing (BPO) facilities in the country for 14 days, starting on Wednesday (April 22). The decision follows the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) at Alorica call centre in Portmore, St. Catherine, where, so far, 122 of the 787 workers have tested positive for the disease,...

The parish of St. Catherine will remain under lockdown for another seven days starting Wednesday (April 22), with additional time provided for residents to shop for essentials. Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, made the announcement during a digital press conference from Jamaica House on Monday (April 20). The Government initially placed the parish on lockdown between April 15...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has announced a tightening of the islandwide curfew as the country continues to tackle the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The new curfew hours are from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. daily, beginning Wednesday, April 22 and will run for 14 days. At the same time, the work hours have been adjusted to between 8:00...

The Scout Association of Jamaica has been supporting the Government’s efforts to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) by donating sanitisation products valued at some $100,000 to childcare facilities and golden age homes across the island. In an interview with JIS News, Chief Commissioner of the Association, Garth Russell, said that distribution of bleach and disinfectant commenced earlier...

Jamaica has recorded 27 new cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19), which brings the total number to 223. This update was given by Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, on Monday (April 20), during a virtual press conference at Jamaica House. “Of those 27 new cases, 19 are females [and] eight are males, and 26 of them...

The Government notes the unprecedented collapse in world oil markets today (April 20) where prices collapsed more than 99% before going negative. Over the past few weeks, we have had a small team from the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service working with our bankers and multilateral partners on the possibility of hedging Jamaica’s future oil supplies. The team...

Teachers are benefiting from virtual professional development online workshops delivered by volunteer instructors in the diaspora. This is being spearheaded by the Jamaica Diaspora Taskforce Action Network (JDTAN) through its ongoing weekly workshops, titled, JAMINARS. More than 2,000 teachers have registered for JAMINARS to date. The next JAMINAR, ‘Coping with COVID-19 – Selfcare for teachers and parents’, will be held...