With the winter season in effect and thousands of tourists expected to travel to Jamaica, the Ministry of Health and Wellness says it is expecting to see a spike in COVID-19 cases locally.

The statement was made by Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie, chief medical officer, in the health ministry, in response to questions posed by Our Today about the ministry’s approach to COVID-19 this holiday season.

“We do expect that there is going to be an increase in the number of [COVID-19] cases. But the majority of the cases are going to be asymptomatic, especially in vaccinated persons and persons who have had COVID before,” she said.

The chief medical officer further explained that the numbers will go up next year, but many of the cases will be undetected, meaning persons will show little to no symptoms.

Jamaicans urged to get vaccinated

The United States (US) is facing a spike in COVID-19 cases with nearly 456,000 cases reported in the week of December 7. The news was announced by US President Joe Biden, who expressed concern over the matter.

With the majority of tourists visiting the island’s shores coming from the US, Bisasor-McKenzie noted that Jamaica will remain vulnerable to the virus and encouraged persons to get vaccinated.

“We have been seeing a change in terms of the sub variants that are circulating, particularly in the US. The Omicron variant continues to mutate. But right now the variants that are present in the US will be new to our population and, if we have a lot of persons coming in, then we are going to see the population being exposed to the new sub-variants,” she explained.

Bisasor-McKenzie said that, in response to this, the ministry is to encourage persons to take the vaccines and booster shots, because they will provide some protection against the virus.

“Lately the studies have shown that there is protection against severe illness from the vaccine that [some Jamaican have received]. However, for many persons, the vaccine coverage may be waning and so they need to get their boosters,” she stressed.

She warned that the Jamaicans who are vulnerable and unvaccinated will be at risk of developing severe symptoms.

No travel restrictions for Jamaica

Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton noted that the Government has been monitoring the increase in cases globally, which has caused some restrictions to be re-imposed. But that will not be the case in Jamaica.

“At this point in time, we certainly don’t see the need to put restrictions here. But, in keeping with the approach to monitoring these things, we will continue to observe and consult with our partners as well as to assess internally,” stated the minister.

He also echoed the sentiments of the chief medical officer that Jamaicans need to get vaccinated to fight COVID-19.

According to the ministry, some 738,069 Jamaicans are currently full vaccinated for COVID-19, out of a population of close to three million.

The latest COVID-19 reports indicate that there have been more than 100,000 confirmed cases of COVID- 19 reported, with almost 3,500 deaths noted and 349 deaths under investigation.

– Send feedback to [email protected]