Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has announced that special grants will be disbursed to poor and vulnerable persons hard hit by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. “The full details of the programme are being finalised and will be announced next week when the Minister of Finance [and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke] closes the debate,” Mr....

The Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) will be providing an additional $10 billion to partner with approved financial institutions (AFIs) for onlending to specific productive sectors, particularly agriculture, in light of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) outbreak. Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, said the funds are being provided at a 0.75 per cent reduced interest rate. Mr. Holness advised...

Due to the continued spread of COVID-19, effective Wednesday, March 18, 2020 the following will be applicable at the Registrar General’s Department offices island wide until further notice. • Our new opening hours to customers is from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. • In office services will only include:- - Express applications - Birth and Death Registration - Collection of...

As part of the Government’s stimulus package to minimise the effects of COVID-19 on the economy, the National Housing Trust (NHT) has reduced interest rates on all new loans by one per cent, and on all existing loans by 0.5 per cent, effective April 1, 2020. This will benefit some 8,000 new mortgagors annually, and some 100,000 existing mortgagors. Prime...

Jamaica now has sixteen (16) confirmed cases of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The latest case is a 57-year-old male with a travel history to New York. He arrived in the island on March 10 and visited his private physician on March 16. He reported having had symptoms for six days. The necessary contact tracing is now being done. Meanwhile,...

Prime Minister Holness has announced that the Corn Piece community in the parish of Clarendon is now under quarantine for 14 days. The community was quarantined following the first reported death as a result of COVID-19 – a man who is believed to have travelled to Jamaica from New York on a JetBlue flight 2959 on March 12. The announcement...

The Trelawny Health Department is undertaking a comprehensive public education programme aimed at increasing knowledge about the coronavirus (COVID-19) and reducing its spread. Parish Health Promotion and Education Officer, Althea Gayle Palmer, told JIS News that public health personnel have been engaged in sensitisation sessions across the parish, reinforcing the need for people to be vigilant about hygiene practices and...