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Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton
Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton has said Jamaica's public hospitals are in a better position to manage the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Tufton said the experience from the previous surge in cases will assist hospital management and staff to prepare.
However, the Health Minister said Jamaicans will need to take a wholistic approach toward their health to minimise hospitalisation in the event they contract the virus.
"We have to begin as a people on an individual basis to start taking better care of ourselves. And I know it's a simple message, but the statistics out of COVID tells us that those who have suffered the most, including passed on because of the COVID virus, are those of us who were already sick, meaning they had some sort of lifestyle related diseases, premature illness, diabetes, hypertension, and so on."
The Health Minister also gave an update on the seven-day average COVID-19 positivity rate.
"We are hovering around five per cent. That's the global sort of benchmark numbers. Remember, we were at the peak at 50 per cent, which means that less persons are being infected. If you look at hospitalisation, it's coming down. If you look at the reproductive rate, it's below one per cent; and again, having gone through this cycle three times, we're getting better at it," he suggested.
Dr. Tufton was giving remarks on Sunday at a Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry award ceremony to honour 32 frontline workers.
A model presented by the Ministry of Health has predicted that there could be up to 400 deaths and more than 10,000 new cases of COVID-19 during the fourth wave in Jamaica.
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