Several state-care facilities have had COVID-19 cases - Tufton

Health & Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has disclosed that there are other state-care facilities across the island in addition to the Maxfield Park Children's Home in St Andrew where employees have tested positive for COVID-19.

He disclosed Tuesday on Radio Jamaica's Beyond the Headlines that other cases were detected at an institution in Manchester this week.

“We had an infirmary in Manchester over the last couple days; it has become a routine now,” he said.

As part of that routine, he explained that there is “ongoing surveillance, where we do sample testing in certain institutions which we classify as vulnerable; children’s homes (and) infirmaries being two; the prisons and so on.”

He said, once a positive test is detected, “you move in and you test everyone, and you make adjustments, and then we go back to normality…”

Dr Tufton's confirmation came hours after the Child Protection and Family Services Agency reported that 12 caregivers at the Maxfield Park Children's Home tested positive for COVID-19. There was no confirmed case among the children.