The Health Ministry is projecting that the country could see up to 1,500 COVID -19 cases per day in January if the Omicron variant is already circulating in the population.
Today, the health ministry announced that a traveller from Jamaica to the United Kingdom tested positive for the variant.
The Omicron coronavirus variant has been detected in more than 80 countries worldwide.
Data suggests it may be more infectious, but there is no evidence yet that it causes more serious illness.
Speaking at this morning’s (Wed) covid conversation press briefing, National Epidemiologist Dr. Karen Webster Kerr said the variant could result in a major spike in cases.
She said the ministry used the estimated reproductive rate of the Omicron variant to do the calculations for the projected spread.
Dr. Webster Kerr explained further that hospitalizations would also increase exponentially if omicron is already spreading.