Local

CMO puts Returning Nationals on notice: “Very soon” persons will have to pay to be Quarantined

Returning Saint Lucian nationals will have to pay to be quarantined “very soon.” Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sharon Belmar-George made the announcement on Tuesday afternoon during an appearance on Timothy Poleon’s Newsspin program.

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sharon Belmar-George

“This is coming,” said the CMO when asked whether a fee would be implemented for returning nationals to be housed in government quarantine. “Because as you would imagine the cost of quarantine is coming at a very high cost to the government of Saint Lucia. So very soon persons are going to have to pay towards their quarantine.”

Dr. Belmar-George also agreed that home quarantine should never have been an option. The Ministry of Health, she says, continues to note an abuse of this option. Persons who are required to stay home for 14 days end up venturing out to places like supermarkets and banks. She stated that officials from the ministry and police officers cannot be everywhere, and pleaded with the public to work with them. “Anyone who is found in breach of breaking home quarantine will immediately be put in institutional quarantine. No questions asked,” she warned.

Related Post

Dr. Belmar-George says she wishes that every single person could be housed in government quarantine. However, this is not realistic. “There are certain persons, who, based on their health situation it has deemed very difficult to keep them and we don’t have the capacity to manage their care alone.

“And also with small children it is difficult to keep and to manage small babies, small children in a room for 14 days. So we’ve made those exceptions but we need the public to work with us on it. If you’ve been granted home quarantine, you need to stay at home,” she pleaded.

Persons can report home quarantine violators by alerting the nearest police station or by contacting the Ministry of Health at 468-5318/ 468-5349.

STAR Reporter

Recent Posts

Of Chimpanzees, Humans and Artificial Intelligence

When I was eighteen, I worked at the Population Program Division of the Ministry of Health. Population control, using contraceptives… Read More

4 days ago

Would Be Robber Shot Dead in Corinth

The male was later identified as thirty -three (33) year old Ted Smith of Mon Repos, Micoud was transported to… Read More

1 week ago

Machine Guns No Match For A Match!

In recent dispatch to a writer friend from our days of California dreaming (several years ago he too had… Read More

1 week ago

Vincent Edmunds St. Omer Obituary

Dr. Vincent Victor Edmonds St. Omer, 89, of Columbia, passed away on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. He was born on… Read More

2 weeks ago

At long last, shepherd not afraid to take risks in the interest of his flock!

The in-depth comment coming from Archbishop Gabriel Malzaire is most commendable.  It's good to have in the seat of local religious… Read More

2 weeks ago

Wall of China Can’t Touch Helen’s Bam-Bam” Wall!

"The Bum Bum Wall is disgrace and these women should be ashamed of themselves, no pride, no respect for… Read More

2 weeks ago

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. No personally identifiable information is stored.