Jamaica has been removed from a list of countries that have been classified as COVID-19 risk areas by Germany.
In a release on Friday, Germany said as of Sunday, May 23, Jamaica is “no longer considered as a risk area” for COVID-19 infection.
In responding to the positive development, Senior Communications Strategist in the Ministry of Tourism, Delano Seiveright, has welcomed Jamaica’s removal from the list, describing it as good news.
“Our rate of infection has fallen significantly, and the other metrics related to COVID-19 have improved significantly,” Seiveright said in a media interview on Saturday.
“It shows to the people of Germany that Jamaica is a safe destination as it regards (to) COVID-19, and that the efforts here to contain COVID-19 are bearing fruit.
“… and of course our COVID-19 resilient corridors where tourists stay for the most part, are safe and have very, very low infection rates as it relates to COVID,” he added.
Seiveright further said Germany is Jamaica’s second largest market for European visitors after the United Kingdom.
“They (the Germans) tend to spend good money when they are on vacation, and they also stay for much longer periods – two weeks for many of them, (or) three weeks,” he said.
Further, Seiveright announced that non-stop flights between Frankfurt in Germany and Montego Bay, Jamaica are to resume in July.
In relation to other Caribbean countries on Germany’s designation of international coronavirus risk areas, Trinindad and Tobago is being considered as an “additional high-incidence area”.
Meanwhile, St Lucia is considered as an “additional risk area”.