Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has called on persons not to waste water as the nation continues its fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19). With schools out, children at home, workplaces reducing their opening hours and allowing employees to work from home, and citizens urged to wash their hands more often, which has increased the demand in water for...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has reiterated calls for Jamaicans to maintain the new rules regarding social distancing, in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The Prime Minister’s call came during a COVID-19 Digital Town Hall, hosted at Jamaica House on Thursday (March 26). “What we ask of the public is to listen closely...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says the Order requiring senior citizens to stay at home is aimed at protecting the older population, who are most vulnerable to the coronavirus (COVID-19), suffering the worst impacts of the disease. The Prime Minister, on Monday (March 23), said that senior citizens 75 and over are to stay at home for 14...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, on Tuesday (March 24), tabled the Disaster Risk Management (Enforcement Measures) (No. 2) Order, 2020 in the House of Representatives. The Order outlines the measures set out for removing or otherwise guarding against or mitigating the threats or effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the possible consequences thereof. They go into effect today...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, says he will be tabling a draft Fiscal Council Bill in Parliament shortly. Closing the Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (March 24), Dr. Clarke said that the Bill seeks to, among other things, “entrench durable accountability of fiscal policy and address gaps". “In that...

Two weeks after Jamaica’s first imported coronavirus (COVID-19) patient was confirmed, Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says the disease has made a tremendous impact on the country. Jamaica’s first patient tested positive on March 10. To date, 21 cases have been confirmed by the Government. “The disease has the medical and public health aspects to it, but once...

The Ministry of Health and Wellness is ramping up surveillance and testing as the country approaches the final stage of the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), which is community transmission. “We are now testing all severe, acute respiratory illnesses that are presenting to our hospitals,” said Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie She noted that, initially, “we were testing only...