Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, has announced a two-month extension of the Supporting Employees with the Transfer of Cash (SET Cash) and the Business Employee Support and Transfer of Cash (BEST Cash) components of the COVID Allocation of Resources for Employees (CARE) Programme. Dr. Clarke, in a statement to the House of Representatives...

Eight more COVID-19 patients have recovered and have been released from isolation, bringing the total recoveries to 599 (80.4% Recovery rate). At the same time, eight new imported/import-related cases have been recorded as at Tuesday (July 7). Jamaica now has on record 745 COVID-19 cases. The new cases consist of five males and three females with ages ranging from 20...

The Ministry of Health and Wellness has so far spent $3.8 billion on efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Portfolio Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, made the disclosure during his contribution to the 2020/21 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on July 7. A total of just under $6 billion has, to date, been budgeted...

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director, Dr. Carissa Etienne, has praised member countries that swiftly instituted safeguards against the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the region of the Americas. Speaking during PAHO’s COVID-19 digital media briefing on Tuesday (July 7), Dr. Etienne noted that from the outset of the pandemic, “people across the region quickly embraced public health guidance to stay...

Jamaica is to benefit from a provision of CA$4.7 million (J$498 million), for which the country is eligible under the CA$20 million (J$2.12 billion) Canada-CARICOM Climate Adaptation Fund facility, to be implemented by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). A communiqué from the Canadian High Commission in Kingston on Monday (July 6) indicated that the Climate Adaptation Fund allocation is earmarked...

Seven more COVID-19 patients have recovered and have been released from isolation, bringing the total recoveries to 591 (80.2% Recovery rate). At the same time, following the confirmation of five new cases, as at Monday (July 6), Jamaica now has a total of 737 COVID-19 cases. The five new cases are imported, having arrived on flights from the USA and...

Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr. Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie, says not enough time has passed to determine whether persons who have had COVID-19 will develop immunity to the disease. In an interview with JIS News, the CMO pointed out that most countries have not gone a full six months since being affected by the disease. “It is still early to determine if...