The Jamaican Government is reconsidering the imposition of COVID-19 pretesting of arriving tourists as the coronavirus response architecture at the island’s airports has been overwhelmed by passenger traffic, Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton admitted on Sunday.

The people (medical personnel) are burnt out and stretched while the equipment goes on down time,” Tufton said in response to queries that some visitors complained of waiting for up to 11 days before receiving their test results.

The health and wellness minister said that a more targeted approach was needed and that the Government might reopen the door to the pretesting of visitors, a recommendation made by the Medical Association of Jamaica.

“The PM (prime minister) presents a flow chart via video which indicates that visitors must stay in their hotels until their results arrive, but the airport medical personnel, we understand, are telling visitors to stay in their rooms until the results arrive,” one hotelier, who requested anonymity, said.

“That can take up to eight days, as was the case with some of my guests who arrived in Jamaica on June 21st, and when they were leaving on the 28th, they had still not received their result,” one hotel operator said.