PRESS RELEASE — Today, Thursday November 5, 2020 the Ministry of Health received confirmation of one new case of COVID-19. This brings the total number of cases diagnosed in country to date to 106.
Case #106 is a 37 year old female from the Laborie District.
She was tested at a recent community COVID-19 screening activity which was held in Laborie and was placed in quarantine while awaiting the result. The Ministry is currently investigating the possibility of an epidemiological link.
This new case now brings the number of active cases currently in care in country to 74. All cases remain stable and there are no cases requiring critical care.
In summary, over the past week from Friday October 30 to today Thursday November 5, 2020, Saint Lucia has conducted 1,056 tests and a total of 20 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded during this period. Most of these cases were captured through the contact tracing process. This information is very meaningful to the public and useful for the Ministry in the management of our current outbreak, as it indicates we are managing clusters of cases. This also indicates that we are able to prevent further spread of the virus by identifying the positive COVID-19 cases who are linked to previous cases.
As efforts continue by the public health team of the Ministry of Health to conduct health education as well as contact tracing and testing of individuals, we make an appeal to every individual to continue regulating movements and behaviours to reduce risk of exposure to the virus. When leaving to go to public places, please maintain a higher level of alertness. Be sure to have with you a mask and hand sanitizer as these two items are effective in preventing the transmission of the virus. In addition, upon returning home, it should be a priority to immediately wash hands with soap and flowing water. Making these a habit will help in reducing the spread of the virus.
Let’s continue to practice the guidelines to reduce exposure to the virus:
– always wear a mask if you are in public
– maintain a separation of six feet from others
– wash hands frequently with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer
– seek medical care if experiencing respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat
– avoid contact with people who are experiencing respiratory symptoms
By doing all of this in combination, we will each be making a big contribution to improving the safety of everyone.
The Ministry of Health and Wellness will continue providing updates as new information becomes available.