Health Ministry Urges Caution Amid Ebola Outbreak | Midday News

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:03][music] >> Good afternoon and welcome to the midday news for Tuesday, May 26th. I'm Antonia Atkinson. Here's what we have in the bulletin.

[00:00:25]Health ministry puts Jamaicans on Ebola [music] alert.

[00:00:30]Realtors warn against informal property deals.

[00:00:34]And later in sports, Reggae Boyz to face depleted India squad [music] in Unity Cup opener on Wednesday.

[00:00:43]Thank you for joining. Now the details.

[00:00:47]Following the World Health Organization's declaration of Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda as a global health emergency, Jamaica's Minister of Health is urging caution. Citizens are being advised to reconsider travel to affected countries. In response, surveillance at ports of entries has been strengthened.

[00:01:09]Travelers who visited or transited through these areas within the last 21 days, but show no symptoms, will be required to self-quarantine under health supervision. Anyone displaying symptoms will be isolated as a precaution. The ministry is also reminding the public to rely only on sources for accurate health information.

[00:01:30]>> [clears throat] >> The court administration division has intensified restoration efforts in Westmoreland, one of the parishes hardest hit by Hurricane Melissa. During Labor Day activities, Chief Justice Bryan Sykes said the initiative carries special importance because of the widespread destruction caused by the storm and the urgent need to improve facilities serving the public. Shamela Pullen has the details.

[00:01:58]Painting, tree planting, and other improvement works were carried out at the Westmoreland Parish Court and Family Court during Labour Day activities.

[00:02:07]Chief Justice Brian Sykes said efforts are also being made to expand the facilities, noting that steps are being taken to acquire additional lands for future development.

[00:02:18]>> Just behind me is a lot of land that is available and we have been suggesting to the Ministry of Justice that the property be acquired so that we can expand the court and to expand the services that we have to offer. But we need to move quickly. And as Mrs. Carmela Anglin was saying, this parish was particularly hard hit and nonetheless, despite the distressing conditions, the staff were still prepared to come out to serve our people. He said the situation has been a challenge for the court administration division, but the team is working to ensure a smooth and efficient process in the parish. We had one courtroom for the entire parish that was in Whithorn.

[00:03:07]With the restoration of the Family Court here in February and becoming operational in April, we're now up to two courtrooms, but the main courthouse is still unserviceable and that will not be coming serviceable anytime soon.

[00:03:23]But nonetheless, it does not prevent us from making the existing accommodation better and more comfortable for staff and the persons who have to come to use the court. The court administration division also commissioned two fully outfitted container units and two additional containers for records management at the Westmoreland Parish Court. This facility, the main issue now for us was our records and information management control. And so the the files, as well, they were damaged. Some of them um we have to dispose of, the duplicate ones.

[00:04:02]And so we're now here putting our records management program together for the Westmoreland Family Court. We have a containerized solution to house our staff and stakeholders and meeting room in Whithorn. And for Sav, we will be going to the Sav PC to commission more offices because we have 47 staff members and we have a container that seats eight sitting those 47 um people. Officials also visited the Whithorn's Outstation, where they participated in a symbolic activity ahead of planned upgrade works at the facility.

[00:04:43]Similar Labour Day projects were also undertaken at courts across the island to improve services and working conditions. Shamela Pullen, TVJ News.

[00:04:55]While confidence in Jamaica real estate market continues to grow, stakeholders say there are still many opportunities yet to be explored. But amid the push for investment is a strong warning about the dangers of informal property dealings and the importance of using licensed realtors. Our reporter Anthony Logue is at the ThropX Investor Conference, where the issues are being discussed.

[00:05:21]Day three of the ThropX Investor Conference promises to be just as informative as it was yesterday. Today we'll hear from a business and lifestyle panel that will include reps from the Tax Administration of Jamaica, Companies Office of Jamaica, as well as Jampro.

[00:05:36]Now, yesterday however, we heard from a real estate panel who provided details as well as insights on the real estate market here in Jamaica. Now, I spoke with one realtor, Noel Phillips, who provided an area which he believes remains untapped in Jamaica's real estate market. Jamaica more and more, while we're not heavily in in manufacturing industry, we're seeing where trade has improved. So, you find a lot of Jamaicans now who are going to China and who are importing from other regions in the world as Jamaica move to more consumer economy. It has created a great demand for warehousing. It has created just for commercial space. So, there's a great shortage of commercial space right now in Kingston, outside Montego Bay and other other towns. So, that as a real estate investment opportunity is one that is is pretty much untapped. Now, as we know, the South Coast was severely impacted by Hurricane Melissa and one would think that that area would be a no-go for investors. However, we found out yesterday from one realtor in that area that interest is peaking. I see it booming. We're going to get a new airport in the grill. We're getting new highways. We're getting new infrastructure. I really feel that Jamaica, we're not third world anymore.

[00:06:57]We're definitely developing and I see us being first world in short order.

[00:07:01]I'm very impressed with what's happening.

[00:07:03]>> So, we've heard a lot of stories about issues with the real estate market, issues when purchasing a property, and just a number of challenges. It's why another realtor I spoke with is insisting that it's important for persons looking to buy properties to do so with licensed realtors and professionals within the market who've been doing this for quite some time. It can be a very long and tedious process.

[00:07:29]And so, it's very important to work with people who have been in the business, have the experience, and can really hold your hand and walk you through the process. It's very important the attorneys that you select and you know, the bankers that you use to get, you know, pre-approved for mortgages and so on. Very important, work with somebody who's established, who has the experience to really walk you through it because it is it really is a lot of red tape and if you're green, if you don't know what you're doing, then it really is something that can be frustrating. Reporting from the Travelers Resort here in Negril, Westmoreland, where the Tropics Invest the Conference is being held. I'm Anthony Logue for TVJ News.