BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - WITH the new COVID-19 variants present in the region, the National Emergency Operation Center is expected to begin ramping up measures to strengthen the local protocols so as to prevent the spread of the variants in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Among the measures outlined is the strengthening of the corridor of containment, which is the procedure of screening of all those who would have come into contact with passengers arriving in the Federation.
Head of the National COVID-19 Task Force, Abdias Samuel made that disclosure on Tuesday (Feb. 2) evening, adding that there would be an increase in surveillance, monitoring and enforcement through the deployment of more human resources and technology within strategic locations in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Samuel pointed to an increase in testing as another area of focus, as there would be more facilities coming on stream shortly that would make testing more efficient in the Federation.
Additionally, the Government is expected to make amendments to the legislative framework that would provide stricter penalties for those people found breaching the protocols.
During his appearance on the Government’s ‘Leadership Matters’ programme, Samuel echoed that there would be an increase in public awareness campaigns that would assist in educating the populace on its roll-out and importance.
Concerns were raised in several quarters locally over the vaccine and whether it is safe for administering in St. Kitts and Nevis.
But according to the NEOC boss, “Having the vaccine is one thing, but if we do not take the vaccine and vaccinate the 70-75-80 percent of the population then accessing the vaccine will be futile.”
It was just last weekend that COVAX, a vaccine provided by the World Health Organization that St. Kitts and Nevis has subscribed to, disclosed that in the first phase, 21,600 doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford Vaccine would be provided to the Federation beginning as early as this month.
“We want to encourage you, we want to educate you so that you can come onboard and take the vaccine,” added Samuel.
Meanwhile, the Task Force will be carrying more period audits of the quarantine sites to ensure that all standards are being met for them to continue operating.
Against that backdrop, Samuel noted that that exercise would be done to ensure that none of the sites do become an epicenter for an outbreak of the Coronavirus on the islands.
