KINGSTON, Jamaica – The National Influenza Centre (NIC) has reported that in the last 24 hours, one sample has tested positive for COVID-19. This brings the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Jamaica to 73.  

The new case is a 57-year-old male from Kingston & St. Andrew with no travel history, but is a contact of a confirmed case.

There are now 31 imported cases, 34 cases are contacts of a confirmed case, 6 are local transmission cases not epidemiologically-linked and 2 cases are under investigation. Some 55 per cent of confirmed cases are male and 45 per cent are female, while the ages of all confirmed cases range from 12 to 87 years.  

The health departments across the island are currently tracing approximately 379 close contacts of the confirmed cases.

The NIC has also advised that to date, a total of 1,199 samples have been tested including those for Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) resulting in 1,121 negative and 73 positive, with five samples pending.

Three more patients have recovered and have been released from hospital. This brings the total number of persons recovered and released to 19. Additionally, 66 patients remain in isolation, while 20 persons are in quarantine at a government facility.