Last Updated on June 20, 2020, 5:51 AM AST by Anthony Morris
The Jamaican Minister of Health and Wellness has said that Jamaica has conducted 18,621 tests for coronavirus COVID-19, with a record 1,158 tests carried out in the past 24 hours.
Dr Christopher Tufton has said that 1,158 represents the most significant number of results which have come back in a single day, and the ministry commends the team for that.
Of the 18,621 samples which were tested, 638 have tested positive for the COVID-19, 17,926 have tested negative, and 57 cases are still pending.
Tufton said this while speaking at the COVID Conversation virtual press conference in Kingston yesterday.
He noted that the increase in the testing in the country was a major development, taking in consideration, the Government’s recent move of opening up the borders to the Jamaican nationals and non-nationals.
Hs said that from June 1 to June 16, the bulk of nationals who came in the country were from the US, he added that after testing, 27 of them tested positive for the virus. Three were from the United Kingdom, and four were from Canada.
The minister added that in the case of New York, for instance, there are 15 cases, and that is where many Jamaicans reside, and New York is, of course, still experiencing the challenges because of the pandemic and, in a sense, the New York area brings a slightly higher risk than some other states.
The minister also noted that Florida had the second-highest number of positive cases of the pandemic, with nine cases testing positive. In contrast, Arizona, Texas and North Carolina had one case each.
He said that the bulk of the persons fall in the age category between 30 to 59, and 30 to 39 representing the highest number of cases (9), but not much higher than between 40 to 49 (8) and 50 to 59 (8). For the 60 to 75 age group, there were five cases,” he said.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
