Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton says Jamaica is in another phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, having confirmed the presence of the highly contagious delta variant in the country.

He says 22 of 40 samples sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency, Carpha, tested positive for the variant.

Another 20 test results are still outstanding.

Further analysis is now being carried out to see if there is any particular significant factor related to the 22 positive results identified.

And with the Delta variant of Covid-19 having been confirmed in the island, Opposition Spokesman on Health, Dr. Morais Guy says the government needs to make it known to the country when the positive samples were taken.

Dr. Guy says the positive results are confirmation of what many in the medical industry had long suspected.

He notes that the results of several samples sent to the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO, have still not been received.

Dr. Guy says given the transmissibility of the variant, the government must clamp down on all illegal gatherings, encourage adherence to protocols and ramp up vaccinations.