The National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS), an entity under the Ministry of Health & Wellness, is reminding members of the public that all persons wishing to donate blood at any of its facilities, must present a government issued identification. Passport, Driver’s Licence and Elector Registration Identification Card (National ID) are all accepted forms of identification. A current school photo identification...

SOME 721 persons have been interviewed and 137 samples collected and sent to the National Public Health Laboratory for testing, as part of COVID-19 surveillance activities conducted in West Kingston last week. The surveillance activities were conducted last Thursday and Friday, following the recent confirmation of five COVID-19 cases in the community. More than 100 team members, including medical doctors,...

Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, is urging persons visiting beaches and rivers over this weekend to follow all the health protocols established to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Minister is also reminding the operators of these venues that they are obligated to enforce the protocols without exception. “I spoke in Parliament earlier this week...

Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr. Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie, is appealing to persons who have entered the island since the lifting of the travel restrictions to immediately report any symptoms of the coronavirus (COVID-19) to the relevant health authorities. These symptoms include fever, sore throat, cough or decreased sense of smell or taste. “We have seen where persons have returned home, developed...

The last 24 hours have seen an increase of 13 patients being released from COVID-19 isolation. The cumulative number of patients now recovered and released stands at 539 (78.6% Recovery rate). Jamaica also recorded two new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing that total to 686. The two new cases are females, ages 29 and 87 years old with addresses of...

The Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA) this afternoon began community surveillance activity in Norwood, St. James. This comes on the heels of confirmation of several positive COVID-19 cases. The index case has been isolated in a government facility and so far 13 close contacts were tested, which resulted in seven positives, two negatives and four samples are pending. Extensive surveillance...

Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC) is being leveraged by stakeholders around the world to drive the industry’s full reopening and recovery from the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The Centre, which was established in 2018 and is based at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, St. Andrew,...