Education Ministry says 800 students so far positive for COVID
Published:Thursday | December 3, 2020 | 8:09 PM
Some 800 students have so far tested positive for COVID-19 in Jamaica, acting permanent secretary in the Education Ministry Dr Grace McLean has reported.
Speaking on Thursday during the sitting of the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee of Parliament, McLean said the information was provided by the Ministry of Health.
Since the first COVID case in March, Jamaica has recorded a total of 10,911 cases with 3,888 active.
The education ministry has been pushing to reopen schools and has launched a pilot programme as a first step.
Some 17 schools participated in the pilot programme, which the ministry reported produced satisfactory results.
With the ministry now pushing for more schools to be reopened, committee member Frank Witter pressed the Chief Medical Officer Dr Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie over whether the Government will give children the COVID vaccine.
However she explained that children were not considered vulnerable and would not be a part of the first phase of vaccination to start in the first quarter of the next fiscal year.
“The young persons right now are not the ones that are most vulnerable when it comes to COVID-19,” Bisasor-McKenzie said.
Still, Dunstan Bryan, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health said children would be considered for the second phase of vaccination.
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