As expected, it has crippled Jamaica’s tourism sector. Even before the confirmation of the first case on March 10, travelers have been postponing or canceling their vacations. To make matters worse, Jamaica’s main travel partners, the USA and England, have an increased infection.

Jamaica’s first confirmed case of Covid-19 was on the eastern side of the island but impacted the north’s tourism sector. Out of concern for staff and visitors’ health, also the dwindling tourist arrival, some hotels and attractions stopped operation.

A cloud of uncertainty and fear now hangs over the island. Everybody, especially those in the tourism sector, is expecting the worse. If the situation in Italy or France is anything to go by, Jamaica will be in trouble.

The source of Jamaica’s first confirmed case of Covid-19 is a traveler from England who came to Jamaica to attend a funeral. She is also responsible for the first case of local transmission.

There have been more confirmed cases of the virus and one death. This individual traveled from New York. He was a 79-year-old man with underlying health issues. He died shortly after diagnosis.

At the writing of this post, they confirmed nineteen positive tests for COVID-19. Most of the confirmed cases got infected overseas. For updated information on the coronavirus, click here.

The government has taken decisive actions to stop the pandemic in Jamaica. First, they implement screening at all ports of entry and protocol that requires everyone to declare if they have been to countries with an outbreak. Travel to China was prohibited, and later England and Italy. Travelers from countries affected by COVID-19 are screened and required to self-isolation for 14 days.

The government closed schools for 14 days, and no essential workers were asked to work from home. Sporting events were canceled or postponed, and gatherings of over twenty people were restricted. These restrictions affect bars, restaurants, clubs, entertainment events, and churches.

Jamaica will close its ports starting Saturday, March 21, at 11:59 pm. They will not allow travelers in for two weeks, but they can depart. Cargo can still enter and leave the country during this period.

The government got help from Cuba with over 100 healthcare specialists. They arrive in Jamaica on Saturday, March 21. They will help with the expected increase of coronavirus infections on the island. The Cubans will spend fourteen days in isolation before they start work.

The country is anxious and not sure of what to expect. Coronavirus information is flooding local social media like water from a broken dam. Lots of helpful information circulating, also fake news. Covid-19 is the dominant topic in every conversation.

Many songs and poems have been written about the coronavirus, some informative, others humorous.

Several videos are circulating on social media about what to drink or eat to prevent and treat coronavirus.

Most people in the communities take this virus seriously, while for some, it is a big joke. The majority are practicing proper hygiene and social distancing. While others take no precautions

Some families are even afraid to come near each other. A cough or sneeze is a cause for panic and fear.

Passengers assaulted a man traveling on a bus because he was sneezing too often. This man had a terrible sinus problem, but commuters thought he had the coronavirus. This story came in the Jamaica Star newspaper.

A local entertainer apologized on national TV. Because he lied to customs agents about his travel history. He did not declare visits to a country affected by the coronavirus. Even worse, he was disrespectful to the costume agents and wished death on them. After a voice note circulated on social media about the incident and threat of legal action. He Scrambled to give an apology and agreed to self-quarantine for 14 days.

Since the coronavirus reached the US shores, hoteliers have been nervous. There has been a steady reduction in bookings as it became clear the virus will stay for a while. Travel agents have been busy rescheduling bookings and making cancelations.
The tourism sector was slowly grinding to a halt. Jamaica’s second-highest source of foreign exchange is in trouble.

The rapid spreading of the virus in the USA only made matters worse. Also, the English government’s lack of concern for its citizens was not helping either. The writing was on the wall.
Since COVID-19 reached the island, major hotels such as Rui and Royalton closed their doors. They promise to open up when things clear up.

When will they reopen? Nobody knows. Everyone is clueless about how COVID-19 will affect Jamaica.

Jamaica’s port of entry closure for two weeks crippled all hotels on the island. All the big names in the local industry have closed their doors. Sandals, Half Moon, Couples, and Hedonism are just a few. They expect to lose billions of dollars. Also, many Jamaicans working in the tourism sector will be out of work.

The coronavirus has paralyzed the Jamaica tourism sector. Causing attractions and resorts to stop operation. The rapid increase in infection in the Western world will only worsen matters.

Thousands of Jamaicans will be out of work, and the country will lose billions in Foreign exchange over the next few months. The closing of all ports of entry for three weeks is going to damage the tourism sector further. COVID-19 is the worst thing that could happen to Jamaica’s tourism sector. Especially when growth is forecast.

The lockdown of the tourism sector and other challenges caused by COVID-19 will stress the local economy.

Nobody knows how soon things will get back to normal. Some experts are predicting infection in the USA to surpass Italy. So closely tied to the USA, Jamaica might suffer a similar fate.

The post How Is The Pandemic Affecting Tourism In Jamaica? appeared first on EDB Travel.

What is the coronavirus?

Coronavirus is a large family of viruses that have been around for centuries. Some Coronavirus affects humans while others circulate among animals such as bats, cat, and camel.

Well Know types of Coronavirus

• Middle East Respiratory Syndrome MERS ,
• Acute Respiratory syndrome SARS.
• Novel Coronavirus (2019 -nCoV) new

MERS outbreak started in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and spread to other countries in Africa, Midle East, Europe and Asia. Infected Camels were the source of the MERS virus.

SARS outbreak started in China 2002 the source of infection was trace back to bats.

The first case of Novel Coronavirus was detected in Wuhan China. Bats were the main suspect although it has not been confirmed. So far this virus has infected over 20,000 people and counting. Wuhan China has the most reported cases, but the virus had spread to other parts of the world.

WHO has not yet declared the Novel Coronavirus a pandemic, despite it spreading to other countries.

Coronavirus is spread by :

• droplets from cough
• contact with an infected person
• handling of contaminated animal product
• contact with animals
• contaminated surfaces

Some symptoms of the Novel Coronavirus are similar to those of a common cold. Such as respiratory symptoms, cough and fever. Note,however that coronavirus can cause kidney failure or even death especially if there are underlining health conditions.

Protective Measures :

• Washing hands often
• wearing a surgical mask
• avoid contact with animals
• cook animal product properly
• avoid contact with an infected person
• cover mouth when coughing

This virus has no cure, but they are looking at the possibility of developing something from the SARS vaccine. Because the Novel Coronavirus and SARS are closely related.

Tourism & the Jamaica economy.

One of Jamaica’s main source of foreign exchange is tourism. Only remittance and bauxite rival tourism in foreign exchange earning. Over three billion dollars was earned from tourism in 2018, with an estimated one billion dollars remaining in the country. Adding much-needed cash to the cash strap economy.

Furthermore, the tourism sector employs 9 percent of Jamaica’s labor force which is about 120000 persons. Therefore, any disruption in this sector would cause a significant drop in revenue for Jamaica.

Particularly, a significant decrease in tourist arrival from the US would impact Jamaica’s ability to earn foreign currency. Therefore, reducing the country’s purchasing power. Basic supplies such as food, oil, and medicine would be unaffordable. These are necessities that Jamaica needs but do not produce therefore the country would face many difficulties.

Less money to purchase oil would Impact power production and transportation causing a domino effect, on all sectors.

Lack of foreign currency would limit Jamaica’s ability to purchase medicine and medical equipment. This would put the health sector in a precarious position. Because Jamaica imports, most of its health equipment and medical supplies.

Jamaica healthcare system

Although many healthcare professionals graduate yearly from our colleges and universities, the system is still understaffed. Mainly because of the migration of a significant number of healthcare professionals.

To make matters worse, agents attractively recruit Jamaican nurses and doctors for overseas employment. Putting further strain on a system struggling to find the resource and retain staff. To further compound the problem, limited resources are allocated to the health sector.

If that wasn’t enough, over crowed hospital is added to the mountain of problems already in the health sector. For, every thousand people on the island there are 1.2 hospital beds available. Therefore, any major influx of patients would put a serve strain on the system plus only 9.6 doctors available to ever 100,000 people.

Chikungunya (Chik-V) outbreak shows how the Coronavirus could affect Jamaica.

According to Doctor Christopher Tufton, Jamaica’s Minister of Health and Wellness, about 1.9 million people contracted Chik-V in 2014. That is about 70% of the population. Eight in every ten Jamaicans had a positive serum (blood) test for chikungunya.

The high rate of Chik-V infection causes a significant drop in production, because of high absenteeism among employees. Because the crippling pain from the virus infection had some people bedridden for days.

Infected aedes egypti mosquito spread the disease from human to human. That mosquito also spreads the dengue virus and the Zika virus which infected many Jamaicans

A disease transmitted by mosquitoes infected over 70% of Jamaica’s population in only a few months. Can you imagine the effect if it was airborne? Given Jamaica’s make up no one would have been spared.

Jamaica Demography

Most Jamaica’s population lives in an urban environment, Kingston and Saint Andrew accounting for over 590,000 people. Following closely is Saint Catherine with over 400,000 people. Other parishes with large urban areas are Clarendon and Saint James. Kingston & Saint Andrew and Saint Catherine have over 40% of Jamaica’s population.

Most rural to urban migration ends up in Kingston. This results in a limited space available for housing and an increase in the price for houses. Lack of housing in Kingston force people, looking to improve their standard of living, to settle in other parishes. Result in rapid urbanization of the rural areas.

Modern Amenities are now accessible in all parts of the island. Rural folks now long live on a farm or in the hills miles away from the roadways. Most people live in housing schemes or villages, where the houses are close to each other. Contacting many people more frequently.

The urbanization of Jamaica makes it easier for an airborne disease to affect a large group of people over a short period. The rapid spreading of ChikV is a perfect example of how viruses can spread rapidly in urban areas. Areas in Jamaica with high population density were most affected by this disease.

What would happen if the government tries to cover up the Coronavirus

Jamaica’s worse fear has been realized, the Novel Coronavirus has been detected on the island. The infected individual has been isolated and is been monitored, but someone did not follow protocol and was infected.

The government tries to keep this information a secret because they do not want to disrupt the cash cow _ tourism. But, secrets don’t keep for a long time in Jamaica, because Jamaican’s love to talk. Local social media is flooded with jokes about the virus. Because, this is Jamaica we take nothing too seriously, and we can find humor in the most tragic situations.

Rumors of the Novel Coronavirus on the Island are spreading like wildfire. Local media takes notice and is bringing some attention to this developing situation. The major news media in Jamaica are very competitive, each salivating to be the first to break this story.

Jamaica’s government is under tremendous pressure from the opposition, to make this information public. They know what is going on because they have their people in all areas of the health sector.

Jamaican Vloggers are having a great time racking views making jokes and talking about the virus.

Locals are getting restless because they have been hearing stories but nothing official from the government. The government is getting nervous because Jamaica is getting attention from the international press and its major trading partners.

It is true when the government says so.

Finally, the Ministry of health gives an official statement, admitting that Novel Coronavirus is on the island. Then he tries to downplay the number of confirmed cases, saying that everything is under control.

Now that it is official, the naïve, section of the population takes the threat seriously. There is a rush on surgical masks, suddenly at every stall and stoplight, there is someone selling this product. Before long, the wearing of a surgical mask becomes a fashion statement. Everybody is adding their personal touch to their mask.

On every street corner, there is someone purporting to have the cure for the Coronavirus, trying to sell some concoction that they had created. Suddenly everyone telling you which bush to boil if you catch the virus.

Because of Jamaica’s urban population, the virus is threatening to infect over 90% of the population, a much higher infected rate than ChikV.

Healthcare facilities are under pressure

Everyone is rushing to the healthcare facilities seeking treatment for Novel Coronavirus. Every symptom of the virus, image or real cause some people to run to health facilities, creating a bottleneck. While those who are sick and need help stay home _self-medicating. Because in Jamaica there is no flu symptom that a peg of garlic and floss of white rum cannot cure. When the sickness gets worse, some bush tea always does the trick.

Overwork nurses and doctors are under pressure dealing with the large influx of patients. And not enough space to accommodate them. The virus is now infecting doctors because they are overwork, so they make mistakes. Lack of resources further compounds the problem.

Infections have spread to the general hospital population, caused by infected doctors.

Blame the Chinese for the Novel Coronavirus

With images constantly been fed to the public of Chinese National being the first to be infected by Novel Coronavirus. The public is now fearful of coming into contact with Chinese people. Popular Chinese stores are now scanty. People now longer clamoring to buy cheap products from Chinese wholesalers. No one wants to catch the virus.

Unable to travel to China for cheap goods plus shoppers fear for doing business with the Chinese, most wholesalers shutter their stores. Waiting anxiously to wake from this nightmare.

Novel coronavirus would be disastrous for tourism

Soon after the announcement was made by the minister of Health and Wellness, a travel ban was placed on Jamaica by its main partners. No more tourists from the USA or Canada to fill the all-inclusive hotels. The faces of happy tourists on the beach soaking up the sun disappear in the blink of an eye.

The novel coronavirus is now synonymous with Jamaica, some people even forgetting that it started in China. Traveling to Jamaica is now like traveling to Hiroshima. Only Travellers to the island are UN personnel or Volunteers trying to help.

Major hotel chains are counting their losses and making plans to set up shop elsewhere.

Travel agents are scrambling to find alternative destinations packages for their clients. Travel insurers are busy forking out thousands of dollars to clients.

Jamaica Minister of Tourism is busy trying to convince Travellers it is safe to travel to Jamaica. While hotels and resorts are offering huge discounts to travelers and incentives for travel agents.

They are depending on Jamaicans to fill those empty rooms on the North Coast. This is not working out because the economy is in shambles and no one wants to leave their home for travel.

There is a total collapse of the tourism sector. Recovery will be long and hard.

Novel coronavirus is no joke

Novel coronavirus is no joke. Therefore, serious planning is needed, to ensure that it doesn’t impact the island. Planning needs to be in place to deal with the worse case scenarios.

This virus has the potential to devastate small economies like Jamaica that depends on tourism.

Although the scenarios above are just my paranoid mind going wild, the possibilities are real.

Base on the country experience with a lot less contagious disease, ChikV, which resulted in a 70 percent infection rate, the Novel Coronavirus possibilities are frightening.

Facilities need to be in place to stop Novel Coronavirus from landing on our shores. Safeguarding Jamaica must be a priority. Therefore, the Novel Coronavirus needs to be treated as a national security threat.

There is no confirm case of coronavirus in Jamaica

This article is just to show what could happen if we do not take the precautions to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus on the island. At the writing of this post, Jamaica has been free from the Coronavirus. Therefore, it is safe for visitors to travel.

Note however that traveling to and from China has been banned by the Jamaican government. Extra precautions are been taken at Jamaica’s ports of entry. Passengers are being screened for any sign of the virus especially those traveling from the region that has been affected. They place passengers who show any signs of infection in isolation until medical officials are certain that they are not carrying the virus.

So if you are traveling to the island and you are experiencing and flu-like symptom it would be wise to postpone your trip until it has been cleared up. It will save you the inconvenience of being examining closely and place in isolation or denied entry.

I will post an update in the chat section of this blog if the situation changes.

For updates click here.

The post How Would The Novel Coronavirus Affect Jamaica’S Tourism? – appeared first on EDB Travel.

Coronavirus is a large family of viruses that have been known for centuries. Some Coronavirus affects humans, while others circulate among animals such as bats, cats, and camels.

Well, Know the types of Coronavirus.

• Middle East Respiratory Syndrome MERS,
• Acute Respiratory syndrome SARS.
• Novel Coronavirus (2019 -nCoV) new

The MERS outbreak started in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and spread to other countries in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. Infected Camels were the source of the MERS virus.

The SARS outbreak started in China in 2002, and the source of infection was bats.

The first case of Novel Coronavirus was detected in Wuhan, China. Bats were the primary suspect, although it has not been confirmed. So far, this virus has infected over 20,000 people and counting. The virus had spread to other parts of the world.

WHO has not yet declared the Novel Coronavirus a pandemic, despite it spreading to other countries.

Coronavirus is spread:

• droplets from cough,
• contact with an infected person
• handling of contaminated animal product
• contact with animals
• contaminated surfaces

The symptoms of the Novel Coronavirus are similar to the common flu, such as respiratory symptoms, cough, and fever. However, note that coronavirus can cause kidney failure or even death if underlining health conditions exist.

Protective Measures:

• Washing hands often
• wearing a surgical mask
• avoid contact with animals
• cook animal product
• avoid contact with an infected person
• cover mouth when coughing

This virus has no cure. They are looking at developing something from the SARS vaccine because they have similarities.

One of Jamaica’s primary sources of foreign exchange is tourism. Only remittance and bauxite rival tourism in foreign exchange earnings. They earned over three billion dollars from tourism in 2018, with about one billion remaining in the country. Adding much-needed cash to the cash-strap economy.

The tourism industry employs 9 percent of Jamaica’s labor force, about 120000 persons. Therefore, any disruption in this sector would cause a significant drop in revenue for Jamaica.

A significant decrease in tourist arrival from the US would impact Jamaica’s ability to earn foreign currency. Therefore, reducing the country’s purchasing power. Basic supplies such as food, oil, and medicine would be unaffordable. These are necessities that Jamaica needs but do not produce.

Less money to buy oil would Impact power production and transportation, causing a domino effect.

The lack of foreign currency will limit Jamaica’s ability to buy medicine and medical equipment. This would put the health industry in a precarious position because Jamaica imports most of its health equipment and medical supplies.

Although many healthcare professionals graduate yearly from our colleges and universities, hospitals are still understaffed. Because a significant number of healthcare professionals migrate.

To make matters worse, agents recruit Jamaican nurses and doctors for overseas employment. Putting further strain on a system struggling to keep staff. The health sector receives fewer resources than needed to compound the problem further.

Over crowded hospital added to the mountain of problems in the health system. For every thousand people on the island, 1.2 hospital beds are available. Therefore, any major influx of patients would strain resources, plus only 9.6 doctors are available to every 100,000 people.

According to Doctor Christopher Tufton, Jamaica’s Minister of Health and Wellness, about 1.9 million people contracted Chik-V in 2014. That is 70% of the population. Eight in every ten Jamaicans had a positive serum (blood) test for chikungunya.

The high rate of Chik-V infection causes a significant drop in production because of high employee absenteeism. Because the crippling pain from the virus infection had people bedridden for days.

Infected Aedes egypti mosquitoes spread the disease from human to human. That mosquito also spreads the dengue virus and the Zika virus, which infects many Jamaicans.

A mosquito-transmitted disease infected over 70% of Jamaica’s population in only a few months. Can you imagine the effect if it was airborne? Given Jamaica’s makeup, no one would be spared.

Most of Jamaica’s population lives in an urban environment, Kingston and Saint Andrew accounting for over 590,000 people. Following is Saint Catherine, with over 400,000 people. Other parishes with large urban areas are Clarendon and Saint James. Kingston & Saint Andrew, and Saint Catherine have over 40% of Jamaica’s population.

Most rural-to-urban migration ends up in Kingston. This limits space available for housing and increases the cost. The shortage of houses in Kingston forced people looking to improve their standard of living to settle in other parishes. Resulting in rapid urbanization of rural areas.

Modern Amenities are now accessible in parts of the island. Rural folks no longer live on farms or in the hills. Most people live in housing schemes or villages, where the houses are close. Contacting many people often.

The urbanization of Jamaica makes it easier for an airborne disease to affect a large group of people over a short period. The rapid spreading of ChikV is a perfect example of how viruses can spread in urban areas. Areas in Jamaica with high population density were most affected by this disease.

Jamaica’s worse fear has been realized. They have detected the Novel Coronavirus on the island. The infected individual has been isolated and is been monitored. Someone did not follow protocol and got infected.

The government tries to keep this information a secret because they do not want to disrupt cash cow _ tourism. Secrets are not kept for a long time in Jamaica because Jamaicans love to talk. Local social media is flooded with jokes about the virus. Jamaica, we take nothing too seriously; we find humor in the most tragic event.

Rumors of the Novel Coronavirus on the Island are spreading like wildfire. Local media takes notice and is bringing attention to this developing story. The major news media in Jamaica are competitive, each salivating to break this story.

Jamaica’s government is under tremendous pressure from the opposition to make this information public.

Locals are getting restless because they have heard stories but nothing official from the government. The government is nervous because Jamaica is getting attention from the international press and its major trading partners.

The Ministry of Health gives an official statement, admitting that the Novel Coronavirus is on the island. Then he tries to downplay the number of confirmed cases, saying everything is under control.

Now that it is official, the gullible section of the population takes the threat seriously. There is a rush on surgical masks. At every stall and stoplight, somebody is selling this product. Before long, the wearing of a surgical mask becomes a fashion statement. Everybody is adding their personal touch to their mask.

On every street corner, someone purporting to have the cure for the Coronavirus is trying to sell concoction that they have created. Everybody is telling you which bush to boil if you catch the virus.

Because of Jamaica’s urban population, the virus threatens to infect over 90% of the population, a much higher infection rate than ChikV.

Everyone is rushing to the healthcare facilities seeking treatment for the Novel Coronavirus. Every symptom of the virus, imagine or real, cause people to run to health facilities, creating a bottleneck. Those who are sick and need help stay home _and self-medicating. In Jamaica no flu symptoms that a peg of garlic and floss of white rum cannot cure. When the sickness gets worse, bush tea always does the trick.

Overworked nurses and doctors are under pressure to deal with the large influx of patients. And not enough space to accommodate them. The virus is now infecting doctors because they are overworked and make mistakes. The lack of resources further compounds the problem.

Infections have spread to the general hospital population caused by infected doctors.

Images of Chinese nationals being the first infected by the Novel Coronavirus are constantly in the media. The public is now fearful of coming into contact with Chinese people. Popular Chinese stores are now scanty. People no longer clamor about buying cheap products from Chinese wholesalers. No one wants to catch the virus.

Unable to travel to China for cheap goods plus shoppers’ fear of doing business with the Chinese, most wholesalers shutter their stores. Waiting to wake from this nightmare.

Soon after the Minister of Health and Wellness announcement, Jamaica’s major partner’s band traveled to the island. No more tourists from the USA or Canada to fill the all-inclusive hotels. The faces of happy tourists on the beaches, soaking up the sun, disappear in the blink of an eye.

The novel coronavirus is now synonymous with Jamaica; people even forget that it started in China. Traveling to Jamaica is now like traveling to Hiroshima. Only Travellers to the island are UN personnel or Volunteers trying to help.

Major hotel chains are counting their losses and planning set up elsewhere.

Travel agents are scrambling to find alternative destination packages for their clients. Travel insurers are busy forking out thousands of dollars to clients.

Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism is trying to convince Travellers it is safe to travel to Jamaica. While hotels and resorts are offering huge discounts to travelers and incentives for travel agents.

They depend on Jamaicans to fill those empty rooms on the North Coast. This is not working because the economy is in shambles.

There is a total collapse of the tourism sector. Recovery will be long and hard.

Novel coronavirus is no joke. So, we need serious planning to ensure it doesn’t impact the island. Planning needs to be in place for the worse case scenarios.

This virus has the potential to devastate small economies like Jamaica.

Although the scenarios above are just my paranoid mind going wild, the possibilities are genuine.

Based on the country’s experience with a less contagious disease, ChikV, which resulted in a 70 percent infection rate, the Novel Coronavirus possibilities are frightening.

Safeguarding Jamaica must be a priority. So, the Novel Coronavirus must be treated as a national security threat.

No confirmation case of Covid in Jamaica at the writing of this post.

Jamaica had no confirmed case of Covid at the writing of this post. So visitors are safe to travel.

Traveling to and from China is banned by the Jamaican government. Precautions are being taken at Jamaica’s ports of entry. Passengers are screened for any sign of the virus. Passengers who show signs of infection are put in isolation.

If you are traveling to the island and have flu symptoms, postpone your trip until you are better. Prevent the inconvenience of being examined and placed in isolation or denied entry.

How has Covid affected Jamaica’s tourism? click here.

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