The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Jamaica is now 143, having increased by 18 overnight.
The announcement was made by Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton at a digital press conference on Thursday morning.
Of the 18 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19, five are males and 13 are females ranging in age from four to 56 years. Three are contacts of a confirmed case while 15 are under investigation.
“There is some suspicion that a number of them are linked to the call centre in Portmore but we’re still investigating,” Tufton told journalists in reference to the Alorica business process outsourcing company, 52 workers of which have tested positive for the virus.
Tufton said frantic attempts are now being made to contact some employees whose addresses are not known.
To date, 23 persons have fully recovered from the coronavirus and have been discharged from hospital while five persons have died.
To date, the authorities have tested 1,424 samples.