by Kevon Browne
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): From 45 to just under 400 cases in four weeks, St. Kitts and Nevis is still in the throes of community spread as local health officials and members of the COVID-19 task force continue contact tracing efforts.
With the country now recording three COVID-19 related deaths and the spread of the virus through Her Majesty’s Prison with 39 inmates confirmed positive for the virus, health officials continue to make the plea for citizens to adhere to the stay at home order issued in the Statutory Rules and Orders (SRO) 24 of 2021.
“I want to remind you that the virus cannot move alone. The virus depends on us as humans to move in order for it to move. In order for those numbers to keep rising, we are the ones that have to move in order for the virus to move. And so I am making a strong appeal to everyone, let us think about our family and our loved ones and [keep] them safe… the children who can’t be vaccinated, the elderly… we have to think about the collective whole as we continue to fight this good fight.”
Akilah Byron-Nisbett, minister with responsibility for health, during the June 24 press briefing hosted by the National Emergency Operations Center.
Byron-Nisbett also stated that we still do not know what variant may exist in the Federation but in spite of this we need to learn to live with COVID-19.
“Even though we are going through this right now, there is a way for us to get back to normal and there is a way for us, even if we have another outbreak, to remain as normal as we possibly can… And that is through; one, vaccination; two, wearing our face masks; three, keeping our hands clean… and four, social distancing…”
Just over 68 percent of the target population has been given the first shot of the vaccine and 37 percent have received their second.
With 301 active cases, St. Kitts and Nevis now rank third highest in active case count within the OECS according to its COVID-19 dashboard.
