COVID-19 Update: Community Surveillance yields 11 more Positives

Community surveillance continues in the quarantined communities in Clarendon and St. Thomas. As a result of the efforts of the Health Department, 11 new positives were identified today. These new cases bring Jamaica’s total confirmed COVID-19 cases to 1,082. Today, also saw the recoveries increase by seven, bringing that total to 761 patients recovered and released from care (70.3% recovery rate). 

The country is now managing 245 (22.6%) active cases across the island, including seven moderately ill patients and one critically ill patient. Sixty-two (62) cases recorded in Jamaica have returned to their countries of origin.

Of the 11 newly confirmed cases, there are four males and seven females, with ages ranging from 13 to 49 years. All 11 new cases reside in St. Thomas, with 10 classified as contacts of confirmed cases, and one remains under investigation.

Jamaica now has 388 imported cases; 350 cases that are contacts of confirmed cases; 75 local transmission cases not epidemiologically linked; 236 related to the workplace cluster in St. Catherine and 33 are under investigation.

Females account for 55% (598) of all confirmed cases, while the remaining 45% (484) are males. They range in age from two months to 88 years.

Five persons of interest are in state quarantine while some 26,175 persons of interest are quarantined at home. Health Departments across the island are now following some 822 close contacts of confirmed cases.

Everyone is asked to be vigilant in the practice of infection prevention and control measures to guard against the spread of COVID-19, including the frequent washing of hands with soap and water; maintaining the prescribed six-feet physical distance from others; and wearing a mask when in public. Visitors and returning residents are reminded that they must comply with quarantine orders.

Clinical Management Summary as at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, August 14, 2020