Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie, is again imploring Jamaicans to protect the nation’s high-risk population by taking all precautions to prevent them from contracting coronavirus.

These include the elderly and persons with co-morbid conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension, who are more likely to develop more severe illness from COVID-19.

“[It is] very important that you take all the precautions… Elderly persons [for instance] are more likely to have a severe illness and have a poor outcome,” she said, while addressing a digital press conference on Thursday.

Turning to the recovery rate among COVID-19 positive cases, the CMO noted that in terms of persons who have been monitored in hospital, 23 per cent have recovered to date.

“We still have in hospital, 36 per cent of persons or 67 persons that we are monitoring, who are moderately to critically ill,” she said.

Bisasor-McKenzie pointed out that the majority of COVID-19 cases show no or mild symptoms and many of these can be managed at home. Most persons can recover with rest, fluids and medication for fever and mild respiratory symptoms.

The CMO said further that of the cases that have been monitored in hospital, only 0.35 per cent of those would have required ventilatory support.