By Eulana Weekes
St Kitts and Nevis (WINN): The Ministry of Health in St Kitts and Nevis has issued a notice stating that based on the foregoing trend, the Federation’s COVID-19 Travel Health Notice Level, will escalate from level two to level three effective Monday, June 6, 2022.
Over the last two weeks, there has been an upward trend in the number of COVID-19 positive cases identified in St Kitts and Nevis. The situation report for Sunday, June 5 states that there are 97 active cases in the Federation, the majority identified on St Kitts.
Speaking to WINN FM, Dr. Cameron Wilkinson Medical Chief of Staff at the Joseph N France General Hospital said it’s likely that there will be spikes in cases from time to time depending on human behaviour. He spoke of this season being a festive one, with major events being promoted for several weekends to come; hence the reason why individuals should be vigilant.
COVID-19 remains a threat to individuals with comorbidities, which include diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, asthma, cancer, etc. Medical officials are encouraging individuals to wear face masks when in public places, sanitize hands after interacting with other persons and after touching frequently touched surfaces, and also maintain a safe distance from others when in public places and when attending functions like church, funerals, and other family and social gatherings.
Vaccination is still being encouraged as the best protection to combat the virus. A breakdown of the vaccine data for both islands reveals that 82 percent of adults in St Kitts and 68.6 percent of adults in Nevis are fully vaccinated; whilst 18.6 percent of children between 12 and 17 years are vaccinated on St Kitts and 16.3 percent of the same group is vaccinated on Nevis.
While emphasizing the message of vigilance to protect against the spread of COVID-19, medical officials acknowledge the growing presence of “COVID fatigue” which has many individuals becoming complacent. Health officials said there must be individual and collective responsibility to curb the spread of the virus.
