KINGSTON, Jamaica, Friday April 3, 2020 – The country’s mobile testing mechanism began rolling out today as the Ministry of Health and Wellness ramps up testing for the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Jamaica has recorded 47 positive tests so far from 476 samples tested over the past few weeks.

Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton said mobile units are being deployed in parishes across the country, beginning in the south east and north east, and a protocol is in place to facilitate testing.

“Persons who have a desire to be tested will be subjected to that protocol in terms of an assessment done or triage as would be done in our accident and emergency context. If they meet the specific requirements or criteria, then the samples would be collected by those units and test administered and they will be contacted and given appropriate guidance and counselling,” Tufton outlined.

He stressed that people would not be tested simply because they wanted to.

The Health Minister explained that there would be a process of clinical assessment and counselling.

“But we will have more opportunity, because we will have more testing sites or sampling sites across the country with these mobile units, and we believe it will increase, a fair bit, the number of samples that will be collected and, therefore, tests that are done,” he said.

Read more: http://www.caribbean360.com/news/covid-19-mobile-testing-units-roll-out-in-jamaica#ixzz6IeToTcfd