Jamaica 'high risk' for COVID-19, US warns citizens
Published:Tuesday | May 31, 2022 | 8:08 PM
The United States has added Jamaica to its list of high-risk countries for COVID-19.
In an announcement today, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned Americans to "avoid travel to Jamaica" if they are not up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines.
Jamaica is now on the CDC's level three, up from level two to which the country was downgraded in December.
On May 18, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton confirmed that Jamaica was experiencing a fifth wave of COVID-19.
Tufton said the wave is likely due to the highly transmissable Omicron sub-variant BA. 2, which is present in the population.
The US decision could be a major blow to the recovering tourism industry as America is a major source market for visitors.
For the last 24 hours, Jamaica confirmed 190 cases with a positivity rate of 32.1 per cent. Hospitalisations have also been climbing and stood at 124 for the period.
More details to come.
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