(Jamaica Observer) A Jamaican woman stranded in The Bahamas is begging the Government to focus on repatriating nationals stuck in smaller islands across the region as it moves to ramp up its admission of citizens back into the country by air travel next month.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Tuesday said that with the timely processing of ship workers, just under 1,500 of whom have so far returned to the country, the Administration is looking to exclusively focus its attention on Jamaicans returning to the island by air sometime after the first week in June.

Yesterday, the woman, who asked not to be identified because of her job, told the Jamaica Observer in a telephone interview, that she left the country for a two-week vacation in Nassau, but that has turned into an almost three-month stay.

Days later, on March 20, Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced the closure of the country’s air and sea ports to incoming passenger traffic and as the country moved to contain spread of the novel coronavirus.

At Tuesday’s press conference, Holness announced his Administration’s decision to broaden protocols governing the return of Jamaicans to the island as it signals its intention to fully reopen the country’s borders to incoming passenger traffic and, by extension, the economy.