Jamaica implementing travel ban on Trinidad and Tobago
Jamaica will be imposing a travel ban on Trinidad and Tobago.
Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Dr Keith Rowley said he was informed of the decision by Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness.
The decision comes following a new spike in coronavirus (COVID-19) cases and the discovery of the troublesome Brazilian variant there.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Prime Minister Rowley said Holness made given him the “courtesy” of informing him of the imposing travel ban on Sunday.
“Sometime today [Monday], Jamaica will put Trinidad and Tobago on a restriction list of countries from which persons cannot travel, largely because of our acknowledgement that we have the P1 virus [Brazilian variant] here,” Rowley said.
As of Monday (May 3), there have been 241 new cases of the virus, bringing total active infections to 2,536, according to the country’s Ministry of Health.
Related story: Trinidad’s PM order lockdown as coronavirus cases surge
Overall, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member state has recorded 11,513 positive cases and 174 deaths since the first case was diagnosed there in March last year.
Epidemiologist Dr Avery Hinds warned that if Trinidad and Tobago continued to record new COVID-19 infections at the current rate, the country could see upwards of 10,000 active cases by May 22.
