The Ministry of Health and Wellness continues to manage COVID-19 cases in country. A total of 5567 COVID-19 cases have been diagnosed in country from March 2020 to present. Over the last 14 days, 95 new cases of COVID-19 were noted. Today Thursday, July 29, 2021 the Ministry of Health and Wellness received confirmation of 30 new cases of COVID-19 in country out of 267 samples. These samples were processed on Wednesday July 28, 2021. The majority of the new cases are from Dennery and Gros Islet, followed by Castries and Vieux-Fort.
At present, the Ministry of Health continues to manage outbreaks emanating from social activities. It has also been noted that during the past few weeks there was been an increase in mass crowd activities related to the recent political campaigning and elections. It is anticipated that we will continue to see increases of COVID-19 cases into the month of August. The Ministry of Health has ensured that necessary measures are put in place to manage and reduce the impact of this COVID-19 spike on our population.
The public is reminded that the five Community Respiratory clinics remain open and people can access testing, treatment and care free of charge. Anyone with respiratory signs and symptoms is encouraged to access care at any of the Community Respiratory Clinics at the soonest. The five Community Respiratory clinics are the Vieux-Fort Wellness Centre, Soufriere Hospital, Dennery Hospital, La Clery Wellness Centre and the Gros-Islet Polyclinic.
The Ministry of Health reminds the public that we are still in a vulnerable position based on high risk of the introduction of COVID-19 and the other Variants of Concern from developed countries and neighboring Martinique. We are also at risk for transmission of COVID-19 in country due to poor compliance to protocols. We note the increase in social activities across the island especially on weekends and the general relaxation of the public health measures.
“We continue to advise the public to remain vigilant, adhere to the protocols that are put in place to keep us safe from the COVID-19 virus. These include regular hand washing, use of face mask
in public places covering the mouth, nose and chin, avoiding crowds and persons with respiratory symptoms and keeping frequently touched surfaces clean.”
Vaccination remains the most effective public health measure in managing infectious diseases. The Astra Zeneca vaccine has been proven to be safe and effective in protecting persons from developing COVID-19, its severe forms, complications, hospitalizations and death. We continue to urge the public to access the various vaccination sites to get immunized at the soonest. The vaccine is available free of charge to the public at many venues on a daily basis. As of yesterday, July 28, 2021 a total of 32, 133 persons have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 24, 418 have received the second dose of the vaccine. Let us all encourage family and friends to get immunized so we can all be protected.