The downtown Kingston-based Victoria Jubilee Hospital (VJH) now boasts a state-of-the-art High-Dependency Unit (HDU) as well as a refurbished space for neonatal and maternal care. The project was completed under the Programme for the Reduction of Maternal and Child Mortality (PROMAC), which is being spearheaded by the Ministry of Health and Wellness with funding support of approximately €22 million under...

As at Wednesday (June 24), three additional patients have recovered and have been released from care, bringing the total recoveries to 521. (76.8% recovery rate). In the meantime, Jamaica recorded eight new COVID-19 cases, representing 1.3% of persons tested in the last 24 hours. This brings the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Jamaica to 678. The new cases...

Jamaica welcomed approximately 4.3 million visitors in 2019, comprising 2.7 million stopover arrivals and 1.6 million cruise passengers, whose combined spending contributed to the destination earning US$3.64 billion. Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett, made the disclosure during his contribution to the 2020/21 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on June 24. He informed that stopover arrivals last year...

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has made further changes to the ministerial arrangements in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation. Minister without Portfolio, Hon. Daryl Vaz, will assume responsibility for the Water and Housing Portfolios and subject matters having to do with certain special economic development projects. Minister Vaz will be tasked with ensuring that water and housing projects...

More than 25 volunteers have been added to the roster of shelter managers in St. Elizabeth. With the new recruits, the parish now has 200 managers to serve over 94 official shelters. Parish Coordinator for Disaster Preparedness at the St. Elizabeth Municipal Corporation, Ornella Lewis, told JIS News that the increased numbers will allow for two shelter managers per facility....

Jamaica recorded a 40 per cent drop in the poverty rate in 2018, the lowest in 10 years. This was disclosed by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, in a statement to Parliament on Tuesday (June 23). “In 2018, the poverty rate was 12.6 per cent, a decline of 6.7 percentage points relative to...

Visitors to beaches and rivers are being urged to adhere to the safety protocols that have been put in place to contain the local spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). This call comes from Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, who warned that the conditional reopening of rivers and beaches that was granted by the Government may...