Five more COVID-19 test results to be known today

THE TEST results for five of the seven individuals currently in public isolation facilities should be known today, according to Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie.

The CMO made the revelation yesterday evening at an emergency press conference at Jamaica House in St Andrew, where Prime Minister Andrew Holness officially confirmed the second imported case of the novel coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2, linked to the United Kingdom.

Her announcement came hours before other cases of the virus were confirmed in other Caribbean territories.

In St Vincent and the Grenadines, a woman aged 30 to 35 years old, who recently returned from the United Kingdom, was last night confirmed to be the first imported case of COVID-19.

Guyana last night also confirmed its first imported case of the virus. The 52-year-old patient, who recently returned from the US, died before lab tests confirmed that she was infected.

Back in Jamaica, the United States Embassy in Kingston suspended visa and other consular services after one of its employees tested positive for the virus.

The employee recently returned to Kingston after travelling to the United Kingdom.

J. Wray & Nephew Limited yesterday also suspended operations at its Spanish Town Road offices because one of its contractors had had close contact with the patient.

The company said that the contractor has since been quarantined and is now awaiting test results while being monitored by the health ministry.

Meanwhile, at least three organisations in Jamaica have taken precautionary measures in relation to employees who may have interacted with the first person confirmed to have the virus.

Two members of staff at The Gleaner Company Media Limited have been asked to stay at home after it was revealed that one was the spouse of a health worker who may have been in contact with the first person who tested positive for the virus.

The second staff member visited the same health facility at which the patient was treated.

Persons who were in direct or indirect contact with the staff members have been identified and were advised to proceed to self-isolation immediately.

RUDOLPH BROWN/ PHOTOGRAPHER Hawkers sell protective gear against the outbreak of the novel coronavirus outside the Half-Way Tree Transportation Centre yesterday. Thousands of Jamaicans have begun wearing face masks and gloves and have also been stocking up on cleaning agents, leaving many shelves empty.