Amid rising global COVID-19 variant case counts, the Ministry of Health and Wellness is advising Jamaicans travelling overseas to observe strict safety protocols to prevent the importation of the highly transmissible Delta and other COVID-19 variants.

According to health reports, the most commonly identified symptoms of the Delta COVID-19 variant first identified in India, include headache, sore throat and runny nose.

Speaking during last Thursday’s (June 17) COVID Conversations, Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie stated that preliminary reports coming out of the United Kingdom (UK) indicate that this variant has been found to be 40 per cent more transmissible than others of its kind.

She added: “There is a report, as well, that it is 2.61 times more likely to result in a severe illness and hospitalisation.”

While expressing concern about the highly contagious and virulent nature of coronavirus variants and more particularly the Delta COVID-19 variant, the CMO stated that maintenance of quarantine measures for persons who come into the country is of great importance in preventing the importation of these variants.

“This is one of the things that are important for Jamaicans to understand. While you see quarantine measures being eased in other places, it is important [to note] that many countries still maintain their quarantine measures and it is because of the risk of spread of these variants that even vaccinated persons can bring into the country. That is why we would want the quarantine [measures] to be in place,” she explained.

Given this, the CMO encouraged Jamaicans travelling abroad to continue practicing the established COVID-19 safety protocols, even when they enter jurisdictions that do not require a maintenance of Jamaica’s precautions.

She explained: “They may bring back into the country a variant that is naïve to the population and, of course, that means that it will spread very, very quickly within the population. With the vast number of persons in the country that are not vaccinated, we remain at risk from all the strains of the COVID-19. So we are still at risk of exposure for the variants, which present an additional risk.”