Government encouraged as new cases plummet, however, testing has significantly dropped while positivity rate still high

Deputy Prime Minister Dr Horace Chang says he is impressed by the wider Jamaican public’s compliance to measures geared at preventing further spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Chang, who also sits as Minister of National Security, commended Jamaicans for virtually no blowback to the anti-COVID restrictions imposed by Government over the last two weekends.

“The people of Jamaica deserve full commendation. They have been most compliant over the last two weekends. I think they have appreciated the message from the prime minister about the challenge we face with this spike and they have been showing good cooperation and I think it has contributed much more to the success of this,” Dr Chang told journalists on a tour of businesses participating in the E-commerce National Delivery Solution (ENDS) programme on Monday (April 5).

“The word from the Ministry of Health is we are beginning to see some decline in the spike in Jamaica and I expect it to continue. We are seeing a very positive response,” Dr Chang said in Montego Bay, St James.

At face value, the rhetoric is displayed in the daily clinical management summary published by the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

According to the data, in the last 24 hours, the island confirmed 72 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest figures since January 28.

So far, Jamaica has confirmed 41,400 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.

There is a concern, however, as the island has been testing less than 2,000 samples within daily intervals, which could skew the positive decline in infectivity.

For Tuesday, April 6, a total of 391 samples were tested, and amid the 72 confirmations, reflects a 36.1 per cent public positivity rate.

Jamaica’s health officials still have much ground to cover, as the island currently sits on a worrying active caseload of 22,033. The death toll has risen to 631, while total recoveries remain unchanged at 18,444.

The three-weekend lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Andrew Holness on March 21.