UK COVID variant found in Jamaica, confirms Tufton
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Seven samples from Jamaica have tested positive for the UK variant of COVID-19, according to Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton.
The minister was speaking at a press conference a short while ago, following the arrival of 50,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from India.
The seven samples, which were taken from people with no travel history, came from St Catherine, St James, Clarendon, Kingston and St Andrew and Trelawny.
“What this confirms for us in public health is that the UK variant strain is present in our population as manifested in the sequencing or the testing that has been done at CARPHA in Trinidad,” said Tufton.
The minister said the samples were randomly selected in January and the results were returned on March 6.
