by Kevon Browne
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): Reports of a COVID-19 outbreak at Her Majesty’s Prison began in mid-June, in the midst of community spread on St. Kitts.
Over a three-week period, the number of cases continued rising with the numbers recorded as of July 2 is 55 inmates and eight staff testing positive.
In a release from Her Majesty’s Prison, 39 inmates and two staff have now fully recovered from the COVID-19 virus as of July 06, 2021, after having two negative tests recently.
Currently, 16 residents and 10 members of staff are still considered active cases and are all in stable condition.
The release also said members of staff and residents at the Prison Farm on Nevis were tested over the past weekend and results all returned negative.
How does distancing or isolation look in the prison?
According to the Commissioner of Corrections, Terrance James, he and his team divided the cell block with a partition and placed affected residents in isolation on one side.
Other methods used to help combat this outbreak, the statement said, “to facilitate full recovery, those who test positive are given additional supplements, encouraged to exercise, in addition to being taken out for fresh air and sunlight. They are also visited regularly by the Prison doctor. Cells were sanitized to allow for recovered residents to move out of the isolation area.”
The Prison has also acquired protective personal equipment (PPE) through the Ministry of Health to further prevent the spread of the virus.
To date, just over 70 percent of staff and approximately 50 percent of residents have been vaccinated.
