More Than Half Of Jamaica’s Cases Now Linked To One Company
April 19, 2020A single company – Alorica call centre – is now linked to more than half of Jamaica’s confirmed cases of the highly contagious and potentially deadly Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The island, up to yesterday, recorded 173 confirmed cases, including five deaths.
The Ministry of Health disclosed that, of the total confirmed cases, 84 are workers of Alorica and four are contacts of Alorica workers.
Those combined numbers link Alorica to 50.8 percent of the total number of confirmed cases.
The company’s Portmore branch is facing a COVID-19 outbreak, which so far resulted in the temporary closure of the establishment as well as the lock-down of the entire St. Catherine parish.
Several of the company’s workers are still either awaiting the results of their tests or are yet to be tested. The health ministry said Alorica’s Portmore operation employs 787 people, mainly from St. Catherine.
An investigation is underway to determine if the company breached protocols.
The health authorities are yet to state how the virus started at Alorica.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Health yesterday reported that, so far, Jamaica has tested 1,605 samples. It said 173 of the samples are positive for the virus; 1,407 are negative; and 25 are pending.
Twenty-seven people have recovered and have been released from hospital, while 31 are still in Government quarantine facilities.
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