The Ministry of Health and Wellness has signed contracts with four private health facilities in St. James to perform elective surgeries that have been delayed in the public health system due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic priorities. The contracts, totaling approximately $70 million, will see some 200 patients receiving hernia, prostate and hysterectomy surgeries by the end of 2022. Hospiten,...

Persons using special payment wallets to acquire Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) locally, are being assured that the process is easy. Digital payment wallets are the platforms being used for transactions involving the Bank of Jamaica’s (BOJ) CBDC - ‘JAM-DEX’. National Commercial Bank (NCB) has facilitated the provision of the sole digital wallet introduced so far – Lynk. Chief Product...

The Minister of National Security will no longer be involved in the appeals process for gun license applications under the new Firearms (Prohibition, Restriction and Regulation) Act, when it is passed into law. Portfolio Minister, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, made the disclosure as he opened the debate on the Bill in the House of Representatives recently. “We have established in...

Jamaica’s tourism earnings are expected to be “significantly higher” this year, exceeding pre-COVID-19 levels, says Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett. “We are looking now at earning in excess of US$4 billion this year, which would exceed 2019 figures by US$500 million to US$600 million,” he noted. He said that visitor arrivals, including from cruise, are projected to be above three...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (centre) and Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, Audrey Marks (right), tour the Harvard Innovation Lab at the university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Thursday (September 15). They are accompanied by the Director of Alumni Programmes and Engagement, Thara Pillai (left). During a visit to the university, the Prime Minister spoke at a roundtable...

The Scientific Research Council (SRC) is now accepting applications and nominations for this year’s Young Scientist and Technologist Award. Interested persons are required to send an email to innovate@src-jamaica.org to access and submit applications and nominations before September 30. Applicants and nominees must be 40 years old or younger; have a terminal graduate degree; be actively engaged in research that...

Jamaica has received a donation of vehicles and vital pieces of equipment, valued at US$540,000, to further strengthen the country’s response to COVID-19. The items, provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Pan American Health Organization/ World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), include a 30-seater mobile vaccination unit, a 16-seater corresponding vehicle for field vaccination teams, a...