It is with deep sadness that I inform the nation of the passing of our dear Hon. Shahine Robinson, Minister of Labour and Social Security and Member of Parliament for North East St. Ann. Shahine was a patriot, a servant of the people, a much loved political representative adored by her constituents, a humanitarian and great personal friend. In previous...

It is with great sadness that we mourn the loss of our colleague Member of Parliament for St. Ann North Eastern and Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Shahine Robinson. I extend heartfelt condolences to her family and friends during this difficult time. Shahine was more than a colleague to me, she was a friend whose company I cherished....

Mr Speaker I stand today at the cusp of a new phase of the implementation plan for the COVID-19 management for Jamaica. As you may recall the Ministry of Health and Wellness at the beginning of this experience outlined 4 phases for the plan. Those being: 1. Inter-Pandemic Phase 2. Alert Phase 3. Epidemic phase 4. Recovery Phase While the...

Progression of the Epidemic It has now been 70 days since our first case of COVID-19 on March 10, 2020. I am pleased to report that we had no new confirmed cases over the last 24 hours and there are 4 additional persons who have recovered and been released. This means that we now have 520 confirmed cases, with 131...

The Government of Jamaica from the outset of the COVID19 Pandemic has been exploring ways to safely return home our Jamaican Nationals stranded in foreign countries or on ships overseas. To achieve this, we established a controlled re-entry process which has to date seen over 350 Jamaicans return home in accordance with our quarantine regulations. We want to get our...

The Government’s CARE Programme has received over 500,000 applications across the available grant types. Given the disproportionately high number of applications for the Compassionate Grant (over 400,000), processing and payment of these has taken precedence. Given the unprecedented size and scope of this social intervention programme, and the speed with which it has been designed and implemented and my desire...

Nurses – Our Health Heroes The year 2020 has been dubbed by the World Health Organization as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife. Rightfully so, as the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, the important role that nurses play is even more evident in these challenging time. In light of this, International Nurses Day, which also celebrated on the...