Royal Caribbean Cruise's Adventure of the Seas docked at Falmouth pier in Trelawny shortly after midday on Tuesday.
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Errol Greene, Director of the Western Regional Health Authority and Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton
Teams from the Ministry of Health as well as the Passport Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) are making preparations to process the 1,044 Jamaicans aboard Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's Adventure of the Seas, which docked at the Falmouth Pier in Trelawny Tuesday afternoon.
The ship docked shortly after midday.
Members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, Jamaica Defence Force as well as Jamaica Customs Agency are on location to facilitate the Jamaicans, who have been waiting weeks for a chance to come home.
The Jamaicans will disembark in batches of 200 every 48 to 72 hours and will be tested for the coronavirus. They will be accommodated at the Bahia Principe Hotel in St. Ann while they await the results of their test.
Persons who test positive for COVID-19 will be put in isolation in government facilities while those who are COVID-free will be allowed to quarantine at home for 14 days.
Errol Greene, Director of the Western Regional Health Authority, who spoke with Radio Jamaica News shortly after the vessel docked at the Falmouth Pier, said the Jamaicans are overjoyed to be home.
"It was really heart-warming to see because there were a number of Jamaican flags being waved and persons spontaneously burst out into the singing of the national anthem," he recalled.
Mr. Greene said other nationals on the ship will not be allowed to disembark.
In the House of Representatives Tuesday afternoon, Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton explained why the government decided against having the Jamaican ship workers serve the 14-day quarantine on the Adventure of the Seas.
He said it would have been easier to just take the Jamaicans off as "there were more persons on the ship as part of the crew for operating the ship than actual Jamaicans...so not only would you be processing Jamaicans, you had to contend with other nationals on the vessel."
Dr. Tufton said, given the phased disembarkation of the crew members, the ship is required to be in the Falmouth port for two weeks.
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