BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - SEVERAL hours after announcing the 75th case of COVID-19 in the Federation, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Hazel confirmed that four more persons had tested positive for the virus.
The announcement came as she addressed reporters yesterday morning (June 3) at a press conference hosted by Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris.
However, by the end of the day the CMO revealed that case #75 through case #78 are nationals who have all been placed in isolation.
All of the new discoveries were located on St. Kitts.
These cases bring the total number to 78 with 64 for St. Kitts and 14 for Nevis.
According to the Ministry of Health, 51 cases have fully recovered with zero death and 27 of them are active.
The discovery of these cases has occurred at a time when health officials are carrying out contact tracing efforts following the discovery of cases 46 and 48, which were described as localised.
“The Ministry of Health continues its robust contact tracing exercise which began on Wednesday, May 19, 2021...We will broaden our web of contact tracing and testing to identify all possible contacts. The aim is to break the chains of transmission of the COVID-19 virus and contain this cluster of cases. The Ministry of Health wishes to assure the public that all measures are being taken to restrict the spread of Coronavirus,” added Dr. Laws.
Against that backdrop, the CMO urged residents to adhere to the COVID-19 prevention and control measures.
These measures include wearing a face mask, maintaining good hand hygiene, maintaining physical distance of at least six feet from others when in public places, and avoiding crowds and events.
The CMO noted that those non-pharmaceutical measures work, “and we are encouraging everyone to comply with them especially at this time”.
Dr. Laws reminded that the “AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine is our main tool in fighting this virus and we urge you to come forward and get vaccinated. By getting vaccinated you are not only protecting yourself but those who cannot be vaccinated such as all of our school children”.
