March 8, 2021
UK variant of COVID-19 found in Jamaica
Jamaica has confirmed the presence of the
highly contagious United Kingdom variant of the coronavirus.
The news was shared by Minister of Health
and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton during a virtual press briefing yesterday.
Tufton revealed that seven of eight
samples randomly selected and sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency
(CARPHA) in Trinidad tested positive for the strain.
The positive samples were from people who
had no history of travel.
“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,”
Tufton said.
