The deceased are an 80 year old female and a 12 year old male, who both had comorbidities and are both from Manchester. The Ministry extends its deepest condolences to the families of the deceased.

As at Wednesday September 9, the country recorded 114 new confirmed COVID-19 cases. These bring the total cases on record for the island to 3,437. Recoveries also increased by 27, bringing total recoveries to 1,019 (29.6% recovery rate).

Of the newly confirmed cases, there are 66 females and 48 males, with ages ranging from four months to 93 years. The cases were recorded in Kingston & St. Andrew (47), Portland (14), Manchester (13), St. James (12), Clarendon (12), St. Catherine (10), St. Thomas (2), St. Ann (2) and Hanover (2). All 114 cases are under investigation.

Twenty-six (26) moderately ill patients and eight (8) critically ill patients are among the 2,302 (67%) active cases now under observation in Jamaica. Seventy-one (71) of the cases recorded on the island have returned to their countries of origin. Some 26,028 persons of interest are quarantined at home while three remain in quarantine at government facilities.

Jamaica now has 459 imported cases; 685 cases that are contacts of confirmed cases; 243 local transmission cases not epidemiologically linked; 236 related to the workplace cluster in St. Catherine and 1,814 are under investigation.

Some 1,892 (55%) all cases are females and 1,542 (45%) are males. The sex classification of three cases is being investigated. The ages of all confirmed cases range from 13 days to 97 years.

The Ministry urges members of the public to take every precaution to avoid COVID-19 infection. Specific infection prevention and control measures to practice include: maintaining a six-feet physical distance from others; wearing a mask while out in public; frequently washing hands with soap and water; and strictly adhering to quarantine orders.

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