Jamaica has confirmed its first case of coronavirus, which is reportedly an imported case.
Dr. Christopher Tufton, Jamaica’s Minister of Health, confirmed the presumptive case to be found in a female patient, who had travel from the United Kingdom. He and other health officials shared the update in an afternoon press conference in Kingston, Jamaica, Tuesday.
The patient holds dual citizenship in the UK and Jamaica and returned from a trip on March 4. She was screened, as all passengers were, on arrival at the airport. The UK was not on the list of countries considered high risk.
“Based on the patient’s travel history and symptoms, health professionals suspected COVID-19,” Tufton said in a statement. “A clinical sample was collected and sent to the National Influenza Centre, where laboratory tests confirmed the diagnosis today at approximately 11:00 am. The patient and family members have been informed.”
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Though the patient’s symptoms are travel-related, the country is taking proper steps to prevent the risk of spreading the virus in the community.
These measures include:
• The dispatch of a health team to the home of the patient for assessment and initiation of public health measures.
• The identification and contact tracing for all possible exposed persons.
• Meeting of Ministry officials with members of staff at the hospital and the necessary interventions put in place.
In addition, imposed travel restrictions remain in place. In fact, three countries have been added to the list of five (China, Italy, South Korea, Singapore, and Iran) that was previously made public. They are Spain, France and Germany.
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