As COVID-19 persists in Jamaica, health authorities have reported an uptick in new cases, with the weekly count increasing to 50, up from 40 the previous week.

The positivity rates also increased by 3.2 per cent, moving from 9.9 per cent to 13.1 per cent. The increase signals that more people, when tested for the virus, have a positive result.

According to Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, while the case numbers for the virus are relatively low and do not represent a crisis, the standard positivity rate set by the ministry is five per cent, which makes 13 per cent too high.

As of October 2, there are 78 active cases of COVID-19. St Catherine continues to record the majority of the new cases, with 16 registered between September 25 and October 2. Manchester followed with eight, and Kingston and St Andrew recorded seven.

There were no new reports of the virus in Hanover, Portland, St Ann, and St Mary.

New deaths recorded

Six deaths were confirmed in the weekly report. Four of the deaths occurred in 2022, and two occurred in 2023. Additionally, four coincidental COVID-19 deaths were reported, meaning the patients had the virus but died due to other illnesses.

Tufton has indicated that the Government has no intention of reinstituting COVID-19 restrictions. Instead, citizens are encouraged to practice personal protection measures such as mask-wearing and vaccinations. COVID-19 vaccines are available at health centres islandwide.

To see the list of cases for each parish, see the table below.