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...

Following his announcement of the closure of Devon House effective today, Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie has disclosed that only the Reggae Mill, the business tenant at the centre of the violation of COVID-19 protocols, will remain closed. “In addition to announcing the closure yesterday, I indicated that a meeting would be held today with...

The Government of Jamaica is reconsidering the reopening of the local entertainment sector, in light of information in the public about the operation of several entities. “On Thursday (July 2) we met with the entertainment sector here at the Ministry to look at how we will deal with the possible reopening of the sector. We discussed, at length, what are...

Jamaica will forge ahead with strengthening its linkages across the world by using its strategic foreign policy to further advance national development goals. As the country looks beyond the COVID-19 pandemic and tackles its socio-economic impact, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade will leverage Jamaica’s strong relationship with global partners to support the recovery and sustain the positive...