MONTEGO BAY, St James — The Ministry of Health and Wellness has recommended a halving of the isolation period for people who test positive from a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for the novel coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 virus.

However, the reduction does not apply to people who have not done a PCR test.

“We are now recommending that we now reduce the previous position held of a 10-day isolation, having tested positive, to a five-day on a PCR positive test for release, or a 10-day on no test for release,” stated Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton.

The decision, he said, was made following a review by the ministry following a similar recommendation by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Earlier this week, the CDC had cut the recommended isolation time for people with asymptomatic COVID-19 infections from 10 to five days.

The CDC had said the new guidelines were “motivated by science”, which had demonstrated that the majority of COVID-19 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally one to two days prior to the onset of symptoms and in the two to three days after.

“Therefore, people who test positive should isolate for five days and, if asymptomatic at that time, they may leave isolation if they can continue to mask for five days to minimise the risk of infecting others,” the CDC said in a statement.

On Tuesday, Dr Tufton said he had asked his team at the ministry to look at the CDC recommendation, but pointed out that “it’s not as simple as it appears on the face of it”.

He also argued that the clinical concerns of a shortened isolation release cannot be dismissed, as a five-day release could contribute to spread of the virus in the Jamaican population.

Yesterday, Dr Tufton, addressing a ceremony for the handing over of 5000 COVID-19 home testing kits to the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association at Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James, said that the ministry has recognised the expert opinions to date around testing and release.

Additionally, the ministry had noted the requirements of some jurisdictions for PCR testing to exit Jamaica and the increasing positivity rates of people coming into the country, whether it be Jamaicans or tourists.

Data from the health and wellness ministry have indicated that the country recorded 365 positive cases on Wednesday. This represents a 32.5 per cent positivity rate of which 38 per cent are imported cases from Jamaicans and tourists alike.

Dr Tufton noted that while the data was moving in the wrong direction, this was expected and was spoken of before as the country approaches the new year, and in the context of the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus.

— Anthony Lewis