The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has removed Jamaica from its Level 4 “Avoid Travel to this Destination” risk assessment.
The risk assessment was issued in September when Jamaica’s COVID-19 infections and death rate were trending upwards. In recent weeks, the new infections and deaths attributed to the coronavirus have been on the decline, prompting the government to ease restrictions somewhat.
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett was happy with the latest risk assessment development and praised the efforts of health workers and first responders
“This is a very positive development. I want to commend our health authorities and the people of Jamaica for working to bring down the rates of COVID-19 infections and hospitalisations, which augurs well for our risk assessment rankings. Beyond that, the Resilient Corridor remains a very safe space for visitors and workers alike, with comparatively high vaccination rates and extremely low infection rates,” Bartlett said.
Jamaica is now ranked at Level 3, which urges US travellers to be fully vaccinated before travelling. Despite CDC risk assessments, Americans by and large continue to travel to destinations they want to visit.
Senior advisor and strategist in the Ministry of Tourism, Delano Seiveright also welcomed the development.
“This is good news indeed. The previous Level 4 ranking caused jitters in some circles and was certainly not good optics. However, with this improved ranking, it will be most helpful in our current and very aggressive efforts to boost tourist arrivals from all our markets,” Seiveright said.
Bartlett is currently in the United Kingdom with a team from the Ministry of Tourism and the Jamaica Tourist Board participating in the World Travel Market. Bartlett has also visited the United States and Canada, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia in a bid to boost the island’s tourism product.
