Jamaica records its first case of the monkeypox virus, the island’s Health Minister confirmed on Wednesday evening.

“We have our first confirmed case of Monkeypox. The patient is a male who recently travelled from the United Kingdom,” Dr. Christopher Tufton said in a media conference.

“He presented to the public health system on July 5, having arrived on the island some five days earlier,” he added. 

The patient has been isolated and his close contacts placed in quarantine.

Contract tracing will continue if it becomes necessary, Dr. Tufton said.