Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Wayne Henry, says the nation requires the collective utilisation of resources at its disposal to overcome the challenges associated with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Speaking at the PIOJ’s digital quarterly media briefing on May 27, Dr. Henry said that Jamaica has entered a period of “significant challenges”, consequent on...

Jamaica is employing the use of geospatial technology in combatting the coronavirus (COVID-19). Speaking at the ‘Virtual Jamaica COVID-19 Geospatial Forum’ on Thursday (May 28), Senior Medical Officer (SMO) for Health Informatics in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dr. Michele Roofe, said that geospatial tools are being utilised for the monitoring and data management aspects of the pandemic. She...

The Mico University College has launched a ‘COVID-19 Relief Programme’ aimed at raising US$1 million to support students who have been experiencing financial difficulties due to the coronavirus. Director of Student Services, Annett Daley, said the funds will be used to cover partial tuition, purchase 250 information and communications technology (ICT) devices and data plans to support students’ remote learning,...

World No Tobacco Day will be observed on Sunday, May 31 under the theme ‘COVID is no Joke, it gets Worse with Smoke’. Speaking at a JIS ‘Think Tank’ on Wednesday, May 27, Chairman of the Jamaica Coalition for Tobacco Control (JCTC), Dr. Aggrey Irons, explained the rationale for the focus of the 2020 observation. “We are discouraging the use...

Regional Director, South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA), Maureen Golding (second left), accepts personal protective equipment (PPE) from Director, Food For the Poor, Craig Moss-Solomon, at a handover ceremony at the Bustamante Hospital for Children, Arthur Wint Drive in Kingston, on May 28. Sharing the moment (from left) are Chief Executive Officer, Bustamante Hospital for Children, Camile Wallen Panton; and...

Nurse Administrator at the Committee for the Upliftment of the Mentally Ill (CUMI) Rehabilitation Day Centre in St. James, Joy Crooks, says the organisation is committed to ensuring that its clients remain healthy during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In an interview with JIS News, Nurse Crooks outlined several measures that the Committee has implemented to ensure that its clients enter...

Regional Director of the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), Errol Greene, says the 172 Jamaicans who were processed on May 28, following disembarkation from the Norwegian vessel, Marina, are in good spirits and happy to be home. Mr. Greene, in an interview with JIS News at the Falmouth Pier in Trelawny where the Marina docked opposite the much bigger Carnival...