COVID-19 infections surpass 25 million globally; tough week for Jamaica with 700 new cases

COVID-19 infections have now surpassed more than 25 million people worldwide and have caused the deaths of nearly 844,000, statistics from the Johns Hopkins University in the United States show;  while locally, the past week has been perhaps the toughest for health authorities in Jamaica, as hospitals came under strain from 700 positive cases, reported since last Sunday, and four deaths. 

The Ministry of Health and Wellness reported on Sunday that 17 health workers had been infected, eight from one of the country's three specialist hospitals, the Kingston Public Hospital, and a further 31 at that hospital had also been quarantined. 

Later during the course of the week, the Jamaica Medical Doctors Association, the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) and the police reported that more than a dozen doctors, 10 nurses and 16 cops had contracted the virus, and 10 more had been quarantined. That includes the country's police commissioner, Major General Antony Anderson, who reported being positive last Sunday.

The NAJ reported that about 25 of its nurses had also been quarantined, while the police told The Sunday Gleaner that more than 200 cops were quarantined awaiting testing or results.  

Doctors and nurses reported exhaustion, as fewer front-line workers meant longer shifts for several.    

After denying reports last Sunday that it had reached capacity, the region's largest specialist hospital, the University Hospital of the West Indies, along with the Princess Margaret Hospital in St Thomas, reported that they had reached capacity on Wednesday.  

The surges resulted in the imposition of tighter island-wide curfew hours on Thursday, which were brought down from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. the following morning  to 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily. The curfews are to remain in place until September 30. Stricter curfews remain in place for Kingston and St Andrew, Clarendon and St Thomas, with lockdown starting at 7 p.m. daily until the eve of the general election. 

Political campaigning also became a casualty of the increase in cases, after Prime Minister Andrew Holiness declared that he would stop physical campaigning due to the upsurge. The Leader of the Opposition, Dr Peter Phillips, agreed and also suspended activities.