The taking of COVID-19 samples by the Ministry of Health and Wellness from Jamaican ship workers who arrived in the island on Tuesday is to go on break on Saturday.

The Ministry’s public relations officer, Mexine Bessasor, told The Gleaner that the move is to allow for time to process the hundreds of samples that have already been taken, noting that the exercise will resume on Sunday.

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The 1,044 Jamaican workers were repatriated aboard Royal Caribbean's Adventures of the Seas cruise ship on Tuesday afternoon and remains docked at the Falmouth cruise ship pier in Trelawny.

Holness said ship workers who test positive will go into state quarantine while those who test negative will be allowed to quarantine at home for 14 days.

Persons in home quarantine will have their location tracked and must do a video check-in multiple times a day, Holness said.