As of March 20, 2022 Saint Lucia has diagnosed a total of 22, 890 cases in country, with 17 active cases presently. The daily infection rate for the last 7 days is 2.9 per 100,000 population per day which represents a 49% reduction from last week, with a 3% average testing positivity rate and a transmission rate of 0.3.We have noted a total of 366 COVID-19 deaths.
We have 4 positive COVID-19 cases admitted at the Respiratory Hospital, 1 case is severely ill. Although this past week we continue to register low numbers of cases, we are presently at the baseline point in the epidemiological curve and the public health indicators are within normal range.
Globally the COVID-19 cases are increasing. Over 21 million new cases were reported across the 6 WHO regions representing the highest number of weekly cases recorded since the beginning of the pandemic.
We also note the major outbreak in neighboring Martinique at this time. The sub lineages of Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 are still transmitting intensely across the globe. The number of new deaths globally have remained stable. These increases are due to misinformation on the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and the total lifting of public health measures especially in countries with low vaccination coverage. The Ministry of Health is monitoring the global and regional situation, ensuring surveillance
measures remain in place. As we live safely with COVID-19, we continue working with the various sectors to reduce restrictive measures safely.
We continue to ensure our testing capacity and capacity for treatment and care remains available.