News Briefs

Vaccines this month as monkeypox cases rise

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton is reporting that the first set of vaccines to treat monkeypox is expected to arrive in Jamaica this month.

“We have a priority group that will be targeted, similarly to what we [did] with the COVID-19, and, once they arrive, we will offer it to that group,” Tufton told JIS News.

Jamaica has recorded two more cases of the monkeypox virus, pushing the island’s tally to seven.

Tufton said the additional cases were detected on Wednesday.

“There is no evidence to suggest to this point that they were imported cases, but it is an indication that the virus is out there and more people are being exposed to it,” he said.

Power theft warning after boy killed

The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) is appealing to persons to desist from stealing electricity and putting children’s lives in danger.

The appeal comes against the electrocution of 11-year-old Ricardo Richards in Manchester on Monday.

Preliminary reports, according to JPS, are that the boy came into contact with illegal wires running along the ground, providing electricity to nearby premises.

He was taken to hospital where he died while being treated.

The JPS said it was saddened by the tragedy and extended condolences to the boy’s family and community.

Jamaican detainee ba ck behind bars

A Jamaican detainee who escaped custody in The Bahamas has been captured.

The police report that Winston Walker was apprehended early Thursday morning after responding to a call that a prowler was on a property.

Walker escaped from the detention facility at Fox Hill Road on Wednesday.

The Jamaican is in custody on charges of attempted murder, armed robbery, and attempted armed robbery.

Bulgins home, preparing for burial

The family of drowned brothers Tavaris and Tavaughn Bulgin is back in Jamaica to claim the repatriated bodies after the siblings died in a tragic bridge jump in Massachusetts on August 14.

The bodies of Tavaris, 26, and Tavaughn, 21, were recovered between August 15 and 18 in Martha’s Vineyard.

Spokesperson for the family, Bishop Rhoan Parkins, confirmed that the men’s parents, Keith and Jacqueline Bulgin, were in the island.

“There is now the business of the burial to be done, and much consideration is being given to that as we speak. As you would imagine, the family is going through a difficult time right now,” Parkins said.