Vaccinated teachers in Jamaica could get preferential treatment

(CMR) Jamaica’s teachers who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 will not receive the same treatment as those who have been vaccinated when schools reopen for face-to-face classes in September, Prime Minister Andrew Holness has announced.

According to the Jamaica Gleaner, vaccinated teachers would not be subjected to the same level of  COVID-19 testing and could receive different compensation.

“We are not going to make it mandatory for them, but at the same time we would have to consider that teachers who are vaccinated who turn up to work that they are treated in some preferential way and those who don’t turn up to work, we may have to ask them to be tested, and we may have to be considering what should happen regarding how they are remunerated,” the prime minister said Monday.

In the meantime, less than a month after restrictions were lifted allowing many areas to reopen, Holness has announced tightened restrictions in response to a surge in COVID-19 cases recently. Tighter restrictions could be implemented when current restrictions come to an end on August 10 as the Jamaica government aims to reopen face-to-face classes in September.

For the next two weeks, there will be a nightly curfew from 8 pm to 5 am Mondays to Saturdays and from 3 pm to 5 am on Sundays and public holidays.

Holness also announced a reduction in the capacity limits for various establishments. Churches, gymnasiums, bars, restaurants, and other establishments will now be allowed 50 percent of their capacity instead of 70. Small events are now allowed 50 percent of the venue capacity or 100 persons, whichever is lower.

Meantime, Health and Wellness Minister Christopher Tufton said the country could receive additional doses of COVID-19 vaccines starting this week with some 300,000 doses of AstraZeneca expected from the United Kingdom.

The Government is anticipating some 393,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine by the end of September and 100,620 of Pfizer in early August from the COVAX Facility.