Visitors from the high-risk American states of Florida, New York, Arizona, and Texas are now required to pretest for the new coronavirus before travelling to Jamaica, says Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

Other states may be added to list, the prime minister hinted.

The announcement came hours after the country’s Minister of Health & Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, told The Gleaner that the COVID-19 testing architecture at the island’s two major international airports, Sangster and Norman Manley, was overwhelmed by the large number of travellers arriving in the country.

Business travellers, whose stays usually last four days or fewer, will be tested at the airport, said the prime minister.

Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett announced the appointment of a COVID-19 Resilient Corridor management team headed by Chukka Caribbean Adventures’ John Byles and a group of tourism stakeholders.