Diabetics, asthma sufferers urged to take extra COVID caution

Persons with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and conditions such as high blood pressure and asthma are being urged to be particularly careful as those comorbidities have been identified in persons with COVID-19 in Jamaica requiring hospital care.

Of the 478 persons who have tested positive for COVID-19, some 42 had at least one of the top six comorbidities. At press time yesterday, the ministry had not responded to a query about what were the comorbidities in the nine persons that have died from COVID-19 on the island.

The country's epidemiologist, Dr Karen Webster Kerr, said that 11 of Jamaica's 478 cases are local transmission not linked to anyone. The health authorities say it is a sign that community transmission of the virus is taking place.

Community transmission

Kerr said that the bulk of these cases have been identified in Kingston and St Andrew. She said too that the ministry is concerned about community transmission near the borders of Manchester and Trelawny, St Catherine and Clarendon, Portland and St Mary.

"Community transmission may be silent. What we want to do is find out what's happening in the communities because we don't want COVID-19 to start screaming at us," she said.

In addition to testing persons who turn up at health facilities with respiratory illnesses, the Government will soon be testing all persons admitted to hospital. There are also plans to test public transport operators.

The testing of illnesses has so far led to the discovery of 36 cases. About eight per cent of the people tested for COVID-19 in Jamaica were positive. Most with symptoms had cough and fever.

The health authorities also said they have seen instances of loss of smell and taste.