Passports coming under greater scrutiny at Jamaica’s ports
Published:Saturday | March 14, 2020 | 12:00 AMJason Cross/Gleaner Writer
Visitors to the island have been facing intensified scrutiny at air and seaports by officers from the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) as officials ramp up the levels of precaution taken, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, chief executive officer of PICA Andrew Wynter told a Gleaner Editors’ Forum on Thursday.
While the global death toll has exceeded 5,000, and the number of confirmed cases topped 130, 000, no deaths have been recorded in Jamaica from the virus.
However, at least two persons have been confirmed to have contracted it. One of the cases was of a Jamaican woman who visited China recently before returning home. The other is an American citizen working at the United States Embassy in Kingston. Both persons are currently in isolation, being monitored and treated.
“Usually, we rely on travellers’ honesty, but since this started, we don’t just take their word for it. We actually are examining passports to see everywhere you have been. On an average day, we take in at least 10, 000 passengers that we have to screen and monitor. We have to step up our screening and monitoring of all persons.”
Wynter told the forum at The Gleaner’s North Street offices in Kingston that those using the ports, particularly airports, must brace for delays, but nothing inordinate. He revealed, without highlighting a figure, that several visitors to Jamaica have been returned to where they came from. He expressed hope that the equipment and systems would improve to a stage where persons are prevented from even boarding planes to the island.
“There are delays because we have to send some passengers directly to the officers to be examined, but it is not creating any inordinate delays at this time.
“Several persons have been refused entry and turned back, and we are looking to move it to the next level, where persons are checked before they even board. We want to be able to say to them, don’t board,” Wynter said.
The PICA boss gave the assurance that his officers on the front line have been given the necessary tools such as gloves, masks, hand sanitisers, and Lysol wipes to protect themselves. He said the agency has no qualms about refusing foreigners entry to the island due to health concerns.
“We took some lessons from when there was the Ebola scare. We are also looking at how else we can improve the protection of our officers.”
Alongside the efforts highlighted by Wynter, Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton said that adequate machines that scan body temperatures for discrepancies at ports are in operation and said plans are afoot to acquire more, including hand-held devices.
“We have ample supply of hand-held scanners. Temperature gauging is important because it gives the first indication of something out of sync. We have been in dialogue with sea ports and cruise lines, and there are discussions about installing thermal scanners at ports of entry and then on large vessels, based on a revised and enhanced protocol we have agreed on.”