Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Honourable Kamina Johnson Smith is dispelling misinformation and misunderstandings in the public domain which state that Jamaica’s borders have reopened to incoming passenger traffic.
Minister Johnson Smith stated, “I am encouraging Jamaicans overseas to be careful about being misled by persons in social media interpreting a single paragraph of the Disaster Risk Management Act (No.4 Order) to mean that regular travel will now start for our nationals. The Order has to be read as a whole and recognizing that it is part of a legal framework addressing the highly infectious COVID -19 disease. The framework will be made operational through new protocols including an electronic travel authorization process, accessible through the new JAMCOVID website and App.”
The Minister further advised that following discussions between Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda, the Cabinet agreed to allow a flight being sent to Kingston to repatriate Antiguans, to also return a small group of Jamaicans stranded there. This flight will serve as a pilot of the new protocols, prior to their formal implementation.
Johnson Smith added, “The Government has been clearly stating that we would be developing protocols for controlled re-entry of Jamaican nationals, and that these would be subject to the quarantine and isolation capacity of our health system, among other considerations. It should be noted that
while we strengthen monitoring and enforcement mechanisms for home quarantine, government quarantine will be mandatory.”
Minister Johnson Smith encouraged Jamaicans to await full information on the controlled re-entry process which will be shared shortly. She said,“We know there are many of you who are anxious to be home, and we too cannot wait to welcome you back to Jamaica. But we need to be careful and to ensure that your re-entry is safe for you, for our health workers and for the whole of Jamaica.”
