Ukraine Crisis | Jamaican students now in the air coming home

Minister of Foreign Affairs Kamina Johnson Smith is reporting that the Jamaican students fleeing Ukraine are now in the air coming home.

Johnson Smith said that 20 of the students have departed from Germany for Montego Bay, St James following a flight delay.

And she disclosed that all other students who were in Ukraine have now left the country and are safe.

Meanwhile, addressing the matter of one of the students who was travelling with her cat, Johnson Smith said the animal is not being allowed into Jamaica given the high incidents of rabies in Ukraine.

Rabies is an acute, infectious, usually fatal viral disease of the central nervous system that is transmitted by the bite of infected animals and occurs in many mammals including dogs, cats, raccoons, and bats.

The foreign affairs minister noted that Jamaica is a rabies-free country and the authorities have to act in the interest of the country.

However, she indicated that an arrangement has been made for the cat to remain in Germany until importation requirements are met.

She said this option was communicated to the student.

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