Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton pleas to Jamaicans to get vaccinated as some hospitals reach 100 percent capacity for isolated Covid-19 patients.

The minister says regardless of being susceptible to the virus either vaccinated or not, majority of severe illness and deaths comes from unvaccinated patients. Dr. Tufton also announced the launch of the instrument used for testing variant strains now functional. He lauded front-line workers for their resilience following the ongoing strain on the health care system with workers being absent after testing positive for Covid-19.

He says 14 hospitals are in the red alert zone nearing their Covid-19 isolation capacity. Dr. Tufton says despite the fact that everyone is susceptible to contracting the virus, it’s important to get vaccinated. Meanwhile, the minister announced that the variant testing machine is now in operation.

He says the machine has been in the country for some time however trainers were needed to get the process going.