by Clive Bacchus
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): St. Kitts and Nevis has recorded two additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 overnight – the total now stands at 52.
A press release from the Office of the Chief Medical Officer Dr. Hazel Laws issued Sunday morning said since Friday night’s press release confirmed COVID-19 Case #50, two additional cases were confirmed as a result of contact tracing linked to Case #46.
“… Case #51 and Case #52 are nationals and both have had close contact with case #49.
The individuals are in isolation at a COVID-19 certified facility.
These additional cases bring the total number of COVID-19 confirmed cases to 52 with 38 cases for St. Kitts and 14 cases for Nevis. Please note that 45 cases have fully recovered with zero deaths. There are now seven (7) active cases. These patients are stable and are being monitored,” the Office of the Chief Medical Officer reported.
Officials on Wednesday (May 19) enacted containment measures and “robust contact tracing” after case #46- a national who had not traveled worked at a local hotel and was not vaccinated, tested positive for the virus.
Facing the possibility of the country’s first Covid-19 cluster or community spread, contact tracing resulted in 315 people being tested as of Friday.
In an address to the nation on Friday night (May 21), Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris disclosed that St. Kitts and Nevis had recorded three additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 after tests were conducted on 315 people. At that time, Dr. Harris said results were still pending for 86 people.
Since the discovery of Case #46, here is the information provided by the authorities on the new cases:
Case #47 is an inbound passenger who arrived on May 9, 2021, and was now stable and isolated in a COVID-19 certified hotel.
Case #48 is a national without a travel history who reportedly had significant contact with Case #47.
Case #49 is a national closely related to Case#46.
Case #50 is a traveler who entered the country on May 9, 2021, and was linked to Case #47 through contact tracing.
Cases # 51 and 52 are nationals who have had close contact with Case # 49.
The Ministry of Health said its continuing contact tracing “to identify, assess and test contacts of these cases. The aim is to break the chains of transmission of the SARS CoV-2 virus and contain this cluster of COVID-19 cases.”
” We continue to urge you to adhere to the COVID-19 prevention and control measures. These include wearing a face mask when in public places, maintaining good hand hygiene, maintaining the physical distance of at least 6 feet from others when in public places, and avoiding crowds and events.”
The Ministry also encouraged people who have not yet done so, to get vaccinated
“The Ministry of Health launched its national COVID-19 vaccination program over 12 weeks ago and to date17.7% of the target population has been fully vaccinated and 47.3 % of the target population has been covered with the first dose. We continue to encourage persons to empower themselves with the facts about the benefits of the AstraZeneca Oxford Vaccine and accept it. The AstraZeneca vaccine is the best shot at protecting ourselves from COVID-19.”
