China travel ban
Jamaica yesterday imposed a ban on travel to and from China, a day after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an international emergency over the outbreak of the deadly novel coronavirus that has so far killed 213 people and infected near 10,000 in China.
At the same time, Foreign Minister Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, responding to appeals for repatriation from Jamaican students in China, said the Government is examining how best it can help to evacuate those who want to leave the Asian country.
The travel ban was announced by Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton at a news conference in St Ann where the Cabinet is on a retreat.
Under the ban, all individuals entering the island from China will be subject to immediate quarantine for a minimum of 14 days.
“Quarantine facilities for these persons will be provided by the Government of Jamaica and persons will be required to adhere to all restrictions, in line with provisions under the Quarantine Act,” Tufton said.
“Individuals returning from China who have been granted landing privileges and who show any symptom of the novel coronavirus will be put in immediate isolation. Isolation facilities are operational at all public hospitals, with a specialist facility available at the National Chest Hospital,” he added.
He also said Jamaicans are strongly advised not to travel to China, and those who do “will be subject to the quarantine or isolation procedures as outlined, on their return to Jamaica”.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Johnson Smith, in a voice note, said she has reached out to international partners to see what assistance could be provided to Jamaicans in China.
She also said the Government is assessing what is within its capacity to do for Jamaicans and asked them to understand that the arrangements for evacuations or transport of other nationals “have been special arrangements negotiated by countries with large, strong health systems and with their own airlift or national airlines”, and who have “negotiated their arrangements understanding that the official WHO guidance and the Chinese Government guidance has been to reduce the risk of spread by reducing travel”.
“So they have their certain assurances and arrangements that they have had to put in place in order to get approval for removal of their citizens. I don’t say these things to make you get even more scared or more concerned, I’m just trying to share some information to help you understand the context within which those arrangements were made,” Johnson Smith added.
“So we are still trying to explore what is possible, what can we do, who can we partner with, because we would not only have to think about how we get you out, we have to think about your care thereafter,” the minister said.
“I know you know our staff in Beijing is very small, but they are doing their best to ensure that we know who is there, who you are, and where you are so that we can not only provide the most accurate information to you, but also the services available to help you in respect of food and supplies. We know that you had had some concerns about supplies running out, so we were trying to do our very best to ensure that those concerns are met,” she said, adding that the Government wanted to assure Jamaicans in China that they have not been forgotten.
Outside mainland China, there have been more than 100 infections reported in more than 20 countries.
Yesterday, the United States issued a rare federal quarantine order of 14 days for 195 Americans who were evacuated from the Chinese city at the centre of the global virus epidemic.
It came after one of the individuals tried to leave the California military base where the repatriated citizens landed on a chartered flight on Wednesday, and is the first directive of its kind in over 50 years.
The US has told its citizens to avoid China.