Jamaica – As Jamaica prepares for its fourth wave of COVID Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton said Jamaica’s hospitals are in a better position to manage the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Tufton was at the time speaking on Sunday at a Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry award ceremony to honour 32 frontline workers.
The previous surge in cases on the island according to Dr. Tufton will assist with hospital management and staff to prepare for the unpredictable.
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.Â
 He said and I quote “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.” Â
 Tufton 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.Â
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.
